The Outworld
by iceangelmkx
Summary: Shadowlaw is destroyed by another group that wants to destroy the world. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat unite to destroy The Outworld. *COMPLETED!* please R&R!
1. Preview

Preview  
  
*The Outworld is mainly on the Mortal Kombat line but concentrates on the Street Fighter characters (I love Street Fighters but when you think about it, Outworld is stronger than Shadowlaw.)  
  
*Summary: When Shadowlaw is destroyed by Shao Kahn and the Outworld, the Street Fighter gang are very angry because they lost their chance on beating Bison for personal reasons. They team up with the Mortal Kombat gang to destroy the Outworld.  
  
Cast:  
  
Street Fighters:  
  
Ryu,  
  
Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Dan, Fei-Long, Rolento, Guy, Dhalsim, Dee Jay, R. Mika, Sakura, Rose, Cody, E. Honda, Vega, Sagat, Balrog, Cammy  
  
Mortal Kombat: Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kitana, Johnny Cage, Shao Kahn, Sindel, Shang Tsuang, Sheeva, Sub-Zero, Mileena, Jade, Scorpian, Reptile, Goro, Nightwolf, Motaro, Rayden, Baraka, Kano, Sektor  
  
*Sadly throughout the story, most of these characters will die.  
  
A/N: If anyone thinks this is a good or bad idea and if you have any suggestions (I don't know Mortal Kombat fully well yet but I'm trying) send me an email or review. 


	2. Ch 1: Good Friends

Chapter One  
  
The chief of Interpol held up the newspaper. "Shadowlaw destroyed!" He looked at his employees seriously. "But another organized group that's even worse, a group that is not about drugs. It's a group that wants to destroy the earth and take the souls of innocent people." He points to a blond woman and a black man with metal arms. "This is Jax and Sonya Blade. They are agents investigating this group and have come to us to provide us with this information."  
  
Jax and Sonya stand up. Jax cleared his throat. "This group is nothing like Shadowlaw. They have only given us a month to destroy them or else they will destroy us and take out souls. They call themselves; The Outworld."  
  
A Chinese woman lifts her brown eyes to Jax. She only stared at him as he continued. "Their location is the Underworld. Once you are there, there is no escape."  
  
The Interpol chief cleared his throat. "One of my best agents, Chun-Li Xiang has agreed to come with the two of you to this mission that you planned."  
  
The Chinese woman stood up.  
  
Sonya nodded. "We will be united with others in a tournament taking place in an island off of the Phillipines. We believe it is connected with the Outworld." She looks at the Chinese woman again. "Chun-Li, this is a warning that this mission is very dangerous. You must win every fight you compete in or else Outworld will take your soul."  
  
Chun-Li nodded. "I'll take my chances."  
  
"Bring others as well," Sonya continued. "We will be leaving tomorrow for the island. We will be having others with us as well."  
  
After the meeting, Chun-Li returned to her medium sized apartment in Hong Kong. She laid on her couch and sighed. She thought about everything that has happened. She had come so close to destroying Bison and Shadowlaw.  
  
But Outworld has done her duty, and she lost her chance to avenge her father.  
  
(flashback)  
  
Chun-Li came face to face with the man who killed her father years ago. He stood there with an evil smile on her face.  
  
"So, little-miss-Interpol-agent. You really think you can stand the chance against my psycho powers?"  
  
Chun-Li got into her fighting stance. "Bison, I will make you pay for what you did to my father!"  
  
Bison also got into a fighting stance. "Then let's see if I will pay for what I did to your father."  
  
Just before Chun-Li could make a move, a big thunderbolt crashed between them. They both lost their balance (a/n: yeah, even Bison lost his balance, that's how powerful the thunderbolt was) and looked up into the sky. The clouds became a bright purple and balls of flames grew. Then, a big man dressed in a cape connected to spiked shoulder pads. Like Chun-Li, he also had spiked bracelets. His horned helmet covered his head and his face was covered that a skull-looking mask. Only his chin showed.  
  
He laughed evilly. "This is interesting," he said.  
  
"Who are you?!" cried Chun-Li.  
  
The big man lifted his fists. "I am Shao Kahn, leader of The Outworld." He looked down at Bison. "Even an immortal like you can't stand the chance against me."  
  
Shao Kahn put both hands out. Chun-Li saw the horror on Bison's face as thousands of little gray droppings came out.  
  
Bison got up, but before he could teleport, the droppings surrounded his whole body.  
  
Chun-Li watched as Bison shrinks into the size of a golf ball. Then, he was sucked into Shao Kahn's hands.  
  
Her hands turned into fist. "You idiot!" She cried. "It was my job to destroy him!"  
  
Shao Kahn laughed. "Really? Well then, I guess you have to destroy me now for whatever mission you were on." He turned his back. "I take your soul too like Bison, but right now, I have to go. My Outworld army is about to wake my Queen Sindel from the dead and I don't want to miss it." His body turned into flames and jumped into the sky. All that he left was the rumbling of the clouds.  
  
(end of flashback)  
  
Chun-Li let a few tears fall from her eyes. She couldn't believe she let Shao Kahn destroy Bison.  
  
She looked at a picture of her father on top of a dresser. "(I will avenge you father, even if it means my own death)  
  
That night, Chun-Li met up with her long time friend Fei-Long. With him were Ken and Ryu who were visiting.  
  
"So," said Fei-Long. They were waiting for their food at a Chinese resteraunt. "You've been chosen to fight the Outworld? Sounds pretty dangerous to me."  
  
"It is," said Chun-Li. "If I don't win the tournaments I get in, I could be killed."  
  
Ken sighed. "You sure you want to do this?"  
  
Chun-Li nodded. "They asked me to bring others, but I don't know if I want to risk my friends' lives."  
  
Fei-Long smiled. "We'll be happy to go with you." e Chun-Li looked at Fei-Long seriously. "Fei-Long, once you're dead, Outworld will take your soul into the Underworld."  
  
Ryu, who was too busy eating his fifth bowl of Wonton soup looked up. "At least we would die honorably."  
  
Ken shook his head. "That's expected by someone who just joined in the conversation. Ryu, not only do you die, but your soul suffers, almost like how Bison wants to control your mind."  
  
Ryu blinked. "Wow, that's worse than death itself."  
  
"Exactly," replied Chun-Li.  
  
"I'll go too," said Ken.  
  
"What about your wife and son?" asked Fei-Long.  
  
"I'm saving the world, aren't I?"  
  
"Yes," Chun-Li replied. "And we have a month to do it or else the whole world will be destroyed and every soul will be suffering."  
  
"Then I'm in," said Ryu. "This might really improve my fight."  
  
"Who else will be there?" Fei-Long asked.  
  
"I teamed up with American agents Jax and Sonya. They know about the Outworld more than I do and they're also bringing in a group too."  
  
Their dinners came and the waiter carefully put them on the table. Ryu immediately digged in and was halfway done before Ken could finish his first fried dumpling.  
  
Chun-Li smiled. "Thanks guys. I really appreciate you coming with me, even if it means your own death."  
  
Ken gave her the thumbs up. "No problem. So, when do we leave?"  
  
"Tomorrow. The tournament's being held in an island off the Phillipines." The men nodded and continued eating.  
  
Chun-Li stared out the window. She shivered at the worst thought.  
  
"(Did Shao Kahn take my father's soul as well?)"  
  
Fei-Long patted Chun-Li's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be all right."  
  
When Chun-Li returned to her apartment, she packed a few things. As she did, she looked at the picture of her father on the night stand. She slowly took it and placed it in her bag.  
  
"(I will avenge you.)" 


	3. Ch 2: The Journey, Reunions, and New Fri...

Chapter Two  
  
The boats arrived off the shores of Southern China. Chun-Li stood with Ryu. She had two black suitcases. Ryu, as usual, has his gray duffle bag.  
  
There was silence between the two until Chun-Li said, "I wonder where Ken and Fei-Long are."  
  
Ryu turned his head toward her. "I'm sure they'll be here any minute."  
  
That's when they heard someone trip and dropped what seemed like a lot of bags. Chun-Li and Ryu turned around. They saw Ken standing carrying two brown suitcases. He stared at Fei-Long who was carrying 7 suitcases.  
  
Ken then burst out laughing. "I told you that you don't need that many bags."  
  
Fei-Long stood up. "So I'm not a light traveler like you, all right?!" Then, he manages to pick up the suitcases.  
  
Chun-Li and Ryu walked over to them. "Let me help you," said Chun-Li.  
  
Fei-Long shrugged. "Fine, I guess."  
  
Chun-Li picked up two suitcases. Ryu picked up three and Fei-Long took the remaining two.  
  
That's when they heard an annoying-like male voice cry out, "Hey, look who's here!!"  
  
The four turned around and saw a man wearing a pink gi. It was no other than Dan Hibiki.  
  
"Hi Dan," said Ken, sounding like he just lost a match.  
  
"Dan," said Ryu. "What made you come along?"  
  
Dan flexed his muscles. "When I heard about the tournament in the island off the Philippines, I figured, why not? Let's try it out." He did a couple of punches in the air.  
  
"(This might be interesting)" thought Fei-Long.  
  
"Well guys," said Chun-Li. "Let's get on the boat and to the tournament."  
  
All five got on the same boat. The boat was a wooden maroon color and the bow was about three feet tall and carved into a dragon. Only seven people could fit in the boat.  
  
The five friends settled themselves. Soon, an old man got on the boat. A minute later, they heard an ear-piercing scream.  
  
"What was that?" asked Ken.  
  
The boat shook a bit and then they heard a young female voice cry, "RYU!!!!!! You're here!!!!!!!! I knew you were going to be in this tournament!!!!!"  
  
They looked over to see a young girl wearing a sailor senshi outfit and a white headband.  
  
"Sakura??" said Ryu. His brown eyes widened and it looked like they were going to pop out any second.  
  
Ken laughed and said to Fei-Long, "It's his little stalker!"  
  
Sakura jumped towards Ryu. Ryu tried to lean back, but Fei-Long's suitcases were in the way. He gave up as Sakura wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him so hard that Ken thought he was going to burst.  
  
"Oh my Ryu!!" Sakura cried. "I thought I would never find you!! I can't wait to see you fight and I hope you can train me afterwards."  
  
Chun-Li tried not to laugh as she noticed Dan rolled up into a ball at the bottom of the boat. He was saying something to himself she couldn't understand. Also, the old man jumped out of the boat and swam to the boat next to them.  
  
"So, um, Sakura," said Ken. "You're going to fight in the tournament?"  
  
"Yup!" Sakura said finally letting go of Ryu. Ryu wobbled a little bit before straightening himself. "I can't wait too."  
  
"I don't know," said Fei-Long. "I think you're a bit too young for this tournament." He looked at her seriously. "Once you die in the tournament, they take your soul. Trust me, it's not a place to be."  
  
"Then why are you all going?" Sakura asked.  
  
"I'm doing an investigation," said Chun-Li. "It's a bit personal."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Dan started to merge out of the bottom.  
  
Then, the boats started to move.  
  
"Here we go," said Ken. "Whatever-Island here we come!"  
  
The boats began to merge towards the sea. The trip was to be three hours long to the island where the tournament was taking place. Sometimes, Chun- Li would dip her fingers into the water and feel the water pass.  
  
Dan saw this and said, "I wonder if I can catch a fish like that." He dipped his hands into the water.  
  
Sakura was sitting very close to Ryu who was looking out into the sea.  
  
Chun-Li looked at Ryu. Her heart fluttered a little as she stared at his features from head to toe. She sort of had a crush on him for quite awhile, but wasn't sure if her feelings were enough to tell him, well, how she feels.  
  
That's when she heard a yelp and then a big splash. Ken and Fei-Long laughed hard. Their boat stopped. Chun-Li saw Dan merging from underwater and spitting out some water. "Darn!" he said. "I nearly had that fish! I went to reach in deeper and then......"  
  
"Dan," said Ken still laughing. "Let's just wait until we get to the island for food."  
  
An hour later, Sakura fell asleep on Ryu's shoulder. Ryu gently laid her on the bottom of the boat.  
  
"She can be annoying, can she?" asked Fei-Long.  
  
Ryu looked up at him. "I know she wants me to train her, but I still need to learn myself."  
  
"Whatever you say, Ryu," Fei-Long replied.  
  
Before anyone knew it, all the boats landed in the sandy island filled with palm trees. Chun-Li saw Jax and Sonya. They walked over to their boat.  
  
"Hi Chun-Li," said Sonya. "Looks like you did bring a few friends with you. We have others waiting in the cave you're all be staying at."  
  
"A cave?" asked Fei-Long.  
  
"Yeah," said Jax. He grinned. "Don't expect to be hotels here. This island has been deserted for so long. We wonder why this island is nameless."  
  
Sakura woke up. "We're here already?"  
  
"Yup," said Chun-Li.  
  
Everyone grabbed their own and Fei-Long's belongings and followed Sonya and Jax. They followed them for about five minutes before they entered a big cave. There were candles lit on the walls. The trail was long before they entered a big area. Waiting for them were more people.  
  
Chun-Li smiled when she noticed...."Guile!!"  
  
Guile, the Colonial of the US Air Force who worked with Chun-Li against Shadowlaw, got up. "Hey Chun-Li!" They both shared a brief hug.  
  
"Hey look!" cried Dan. "It's Guy and R. Mika!!"  
  
A guy in an orange ninja gi walked up to them. "Hi Dan."  
  
Following him was a girl with blond hair in long pigtails. "Hey Dan," she said with a smile. "Long time no see."  
  
"What?" said a tall guy with a Jamaican accent. "No one's happy to see Dee Jay?"  
  
Ken was the only one who replied to that. "Hi."  
  
Sonya smiled. "Seems like everyone knows each other here?"  
  
"Yeah," said Ken. "We were all in the Street Fighter Tournaments. Look, there's Dhalsim!"  
  
Dhalsim was floating in the air meditating. He opened one of his white eyes and looked at Ken. "Keep quiet! I'm meditating!"  
  
"And there's Edmund Honda," said Fei-Long. Honda was eating a big bowl of fish in the corner of the cave.  
  
"And Rose," said Chun-Li. Rose's body was glowing purple and she seemed in full concentration.  
  
"She's preparing for the tournament," said a tall blond man. He scratched his nose the handcuffs connected on both wrists.  
  
"Cody," said Ken.  
  
"And don't forget me," said a man with a German accent.  
  
"Rolento," said Fei-Long.  
  
"Now," said Sonya. "It's time for all of you to meet my people."  
  
Dhalsim and Rose got out of their concentrations and Honda looked up in confusion.  
  
Four people stood up. One was Chinese and wore nothing but black pants and a red bandana, one was wearing a blue dress, one was dressed all in white that nearly matched his long white hair, and one was good looking and wore expensive clothes and expensive sunglasses.  
  
Sonya pointed to the Chinese man. "This is Liu Kang, he was Mortal Kombat's champion last year."  
  
Dan looked at Liu, then Ryu. He cracked up. "Look at that. Ryu and Liu are wearing red bandanas! They're like long lost brothers."  
  
Unfortunately, Dan was the only one laughing. Everyone else gave him 'man- you're-weird' looks. Dan stopped laughing.  
  
Sonya pointed to the man with the sunglasses. "This is Johnny Cage, a good friend of mine."  
  
Fei-Long scratched his chin. "I know you. You're that actor in America everyone's crazy about."  
  
Johnny looked at him. "And you're that famous Hong Kong actor aren't you?"  
  
Sonya continued and pointed to the man with the white hair. "This is Lord Rayden. He'll help you in this tournament."  
  
"Perhaps I will as well," said Rose stepping forward. "I am a psychic who fights with soul power."  
  
"Impressive," said Rayden.  
  
"And finally," Sonya said pointing to the woman with the blue dress. "This is Kitana, someone who knows about Outworld very well."  
  
Immediately, Guy was amazed by Kitana. She was beautiful with long brown hair, dark eyes and full lips. Guy already imagined himself being with her and wanting to protect her from the tournament since he knew the consequence of losing.  
  
Jax noticed the way Guy was looking at her. "Umm, Guy," he said. "Try not to react, but I'm just letting you know now that she's ten thousand years old."  
  
"(Ten thousand what?!)" Guy thought.  
  
"Okay," said Jax. "Many of you are aware of the rules of the tournament. The tournament is runned by Shang Tsuang, who we believe is one of Shao Kahn's best warriors of the Outworld. Not many of you will make it out alive, you I'd start writing wills if I were you. Are you all sure you want to do this?" He looked at Sakura.  
  
"YES!!" everyone cried. Sakura gave Jax a smile.  
  
"Good. The tournament begins in two days. If you beat Prince Goro, you will make it to the finals in which you must face Shang Tsuang himself."  
  
"Who's Prince Goro?" asked Rolento.  
  
"You'll see," said Kitana. Her voice echoed into Guy's mind.  
  
"So everyone, just relax," said Sonya. "And prepare for the tournament."  
  
(A/N: don't worry, in a couple of chapters the action will begin) 


	4. Ch 3: The Night Before

Chapter Three  
  
  
  
The next evening, some of the people either ate, rest, or sparred.  
  
Ken, Cody, Fei-Long, and Johnny Cage sat around a fire eating rice out of a coconut shell made into a bowl.  
  
"So," said Cody. "Are you guys ready for the tournament?"  
  
Johnny swallowed his rice. "I'm sure I am."  
  
Fei-Long looked at him. "Do you ever take those sunglasses off? It is dark out you know."  
  
Johnny rolled his eyes and took off his sunglasses. "Is that better?"  
  
As the guys were talking, Ken was writing a letter to his wife Eliza and son Mel. In it he wrote:  
  
Dear Eliza and Mel:  
  
Things are going fine here in the 'nameless' island. The tournament's tomorrow, I guess I can't wait for it. I believe that I can live through this, but what about my friends? Ryu's a good fighter, but I've heard scary things about Prince Goro. The guy has won this tournament nine generations in a row. Supposesly, there's an army called Outworld wanting to find the best fighters. Sounds like Shadowlaw, only they take your souls. They call themselves Outworld because from what Kitana told me, Outworld is a place outside this earth originally called Edenia which was taken over by Shao Kahn. Chun-Li has seen him once when she fought Bison, he's pretty strong. I mean, he did take Bison's soul. I miss you both and I love you. I'll be thinking about you guys as I fight through this tournament.  
  
Love, Ken  
  
Ken sealed the letter and stared at it for awhile.  
  
"Ken," he heard Fei-Long say. "Is that letter for your family."  
  
Ken got up. "Yeah."  
  
Over by the cave, Guy just finished practicing some moves. He started to walk over to the cave to get some food when he noticed Kitana with Dan and Mika.  
  
He heard the conversation.  
  
Dan flexed his muscles. "I really want to get through this tournament and beat Prince Goro."  
  
Kitana smirked a little. "You have good confidence, but Goro is very strong. He did win nine tournaments in a row."  
  
Mika's eyes widened. "He must be very strong."  
  
"He is."  
  
Dan's eyes nearly popped out as he said, "But..but what if were not strong enough to beat him??? I don't wanna die!!"  
  
"Me neither," Mika said.  
  
"Kitana," Dan said. "How do Mika and I become stronger?"  
  
Kitana looked at the two and said, "There is one way you can become stronger. Seek the one named Nightwolf. He will help you make you stronger."  
  
"Where is this Nightwolf?" Mika asked.  
  
"He lives on the other side of the island. It's a long walk. You must be back in time for your tournament."  
  
"I'm not in for another three days," said Dan.  
  
"Me neither," Mika said.  
  
"Okay," Kitana continued. She turned around and pointed behind her. "Follow that trail. It should lead you to his camping grounds."  
  
"Yippee!!" Dan cried and immediately took Mika's hand. "Come one Mika! Let's go meet Nightwolf." He started running still holding on to Mika's hand.  
  
"Dan!!!" Mika shouted. "Don't run so fast!!"  
  
Kitana watched as the two ran towards the woods. She turned back towards the cave. She was a little shocked to see Guy standing there.  
  
"Hello Guy," she said.  
  
Guy was so busy staring at her face that he was startled when she said hi to him. He shook his head a little and slowly walked towards her. "Hi Kitana."  
  
Kitana smirked a little seeing the way Guy was walking, slow and wobbly. Kitana continued, "You're in the tournament tomorrow, correct?"  
  
"Yes," Guy replied. "I'm going against someone called Sub-Zero."  
  
Kitana nodded. "Sub-Zero. He's part of a secret society called Lin Kuei, a group of assassians."  
  
"Asassains?" Guy repeated. He looked back at her. "Who are you fighting?"  
  
"I'll be watching," she said. "I've had my eye on Outworld for a long time."  
  
Guy looked at her face once again. He couldn't believe that a ten thousand year old woman could be so beautiful.  
  
He shook his head a little. "(I mustn't like her only for her outer beauty. I must get to know her inner beauty)"  
  
Guy sighed. "So, um, other than fighting, um, what else do you like?"  
  
Kitana gave him an evil smirk. "I guess you can say men who seem to like to say the word 'um' a lot."  
  
Guy looked into her brown eyes as she said that and felt his heart flutter a little. "(I must be falling in love with her)"  
  
Then, he heard Honda. "Hey Guy! Come in the cave and play cards with me."  
  
Guy turned to the sumo wrestler. "All right," he said. He turned back to Kitana.  
  
"Good luck tomorrow," she said.  
  
Guy gave her a shy smile and started walking. He was still looking at her when he ended up tripping over his own feet.  
  
Honda laughed. "Hey Guy, I didn't know you were that clumsy!"  
  
Guy buried his face in the sand as his face turned a thousand shades of red.  
  
***  
  
Over by the beach, Ryu and Liu Kang got into their stances. They starred at each other for awhile.  
  
Then, Liu jumped into the air. Ryu got down and rolled out of the way. Liu landed on both of his feet. Ryu put his leg out and tripped him. Liu fell on his back but immediately got up. He threw a roundhouse kick. Ryu blocked that and tried to hold on to his leg to flip him, but Liu saw this attempt and pulled away.  
  
Over by one spot, Sakura watched them spar. Even though Liu was a guy, she was jealous that he got to spar with Ryu. "(I wish that was me over there right now)"  
  
Chun-Li watched them in another spot with Rolento.  
  
Rolento laughed. "Those two are alike. They're pretty good fighters of course. Dan's kind of right, it's pretty funny how they have red bandanas."  
  
Chun-Li didn't really listen to Rolento. She watched the spar with amazement.  
  
Ryu ducked another punch from Liu. Then, he aimed his fist at his stomach. Liu blocked and did a karate chop. He clipped Ryu in the shoulder. It didn't hurt Ryu too much.  
  
Liu then took his arm and flipped Ryu. Ryu landed on his back and felt slight pain. He ignored it and jumped back up and crouched down. He made a fist and jumped.  
  
"Sho-ryu-ken!!" he cried out. He got Liu in the stomach. Liu flew in the air and fell onto his side. Ryu landed on his feet.  
  
Liu got up. "That's it," he said with a grin. He jumped up and flew at Ryu, his feet towards him. He knew he had to go easy on him because if he did this move too hard, he could kill him.  
  
Liu started kicking Ryu rapidly in the stomach and chest keeping his body in the air. After five seconds of this, Liu lightly pushed him sending Ryu flying a few feet back and landing on his back. Liu landed on his feet.  
  
Ryu slowly got up and got into a stance. Liu was a bit amazed that Ryu wanted to still fight even after all those blows.  
  
Liu smirked at him. "We'll continue this later, Ryu. I need my rest for tomorrow. You're a good fighter."  
  
Ryu got out of his stance. "You are as well, Liu." They bowed to each other and went back towards the cave.  
  
Everyone sat around in a circle later that night. "The competition is tomorrow," said Kitana. "Liu Kang, Guy, and Dee Jay are fighting tomorrow. The three of you, I wish you the best of luck."  
  
"Thanks Kitana," said Dee Jay giving her his trademark grin and giving her the thumbs up.  
  
"Hey," said Jax looking around. "Where's that funny looking guy? And the blond girl?"  
  
"You mean Dan and Mika?" Kitana said. "They want to become stronger so I send them to Nightwolf."  
  
"Well," said Cody. "At least I don't have to listen to him snore and talk in his sleep tonight." He lied himself down on his gray sleeping bag.  
  
"We better get some sleep," said Sonya.  
  
As everyone went to their sleeping bags, Chun-Li turned to Ryu. He walked over to his sleeping area and sat down. She knew that he was going to mediatate. She was surprise that Sakura, who was about a foot away from him, fell asleep right away.  
  
"(Ryu's so peaceful)" she thought to herself. "(I wonder why he doesn't open up that much.)"  
  
But then she remembered. "(To him, the fight is all)"  
  
Chun-Li closed her eyes feeling a bit guilty from her thoughts as the candles were blown out.  
  
***  
  
Dan looked up at the sky. "It's pretty dark outside," he said.  
  
Mika gave him an devilish grin. "Are you afraid of the dark?"  
  
Dan looked at her. "Me? Afraid of the dark? I'm Dan Hibiki, I'm afraid of nothing!"  
  
That's when they heard something squeal in the woods. Mika looked around. "What was that?" He looked around and realized Dan was standing next to her. She felt someone holding on to her shoulders. She turned around and saw Dan bend down shaking.  
  
Mika laughed. "Admit it Dan, you ARE afraid of the dark."  
  
"No I'm not!" he cried. "I....umm.....I was ....uh..checking....umm....your rear!"  
  
Mika turned to him shocked and a bit angry. "What?!"  
  
Dan then realized what he said. "(Doh!)"  
  
"That's it Dan, you're going to get it!" She slowly walked up to him evilly.  
  
"Help!!" Dan cried out and started sprinting down the trail, not realizing he was going west instead of south. Mika chased him down. She got to him and picked him up. She flipped herself over and lightly slammed Dan onto the ground. She got up quickly and saw Dan on the ground.  
  
"Ow," he said in a low voice.  
  
Mika bend down to him and smiled. "I know you're afraid of the dark. Next time you make an excuse, be careful with what you say." She put her hand out.  
  
Dan showed a goofy smile and took Mika's hand. She helped him out and they continued their trail, not realizing that they're going the wrong way.  
  
***  
  
During the night, Chun-Li couldn't sleep. She stared up at the walls of the cave.  
  
She felt a little cold from the winds coming in. She tried her best to cover her shoulders with her sleeping bag, but she still felt cold.  
  
She thought about her father and all the memories she had with him. She hopes to destroy Shao Kahn. Since he took Bison's soul, it was the only other way to avenge her father's death.  
  
Chun-Li did her best to think about the good memories. Then, she turned to Ryu. He slept peacefully. "(I wonder what he is dreaming about)"  
  
"(I know Ryu is strong, but I hope that he can live through this tournament. I don't need another reason to destroy Shao Kahn)" 


	5. Ch 4: The First Tournament

(A/n: Warning: this chapter is a bit gory. Then again, so is the Mortal Kombat game. This is a little disorganized too.)  
  
(A/N2: There has been minor change in the soul-taking part of the story. Thank you Ghost the Lost Soul for pointing this out :). I knew there was something wrong with my original idea.)  
  
  
  
Chapter Four  
  
  
  
Chun-Li woke up to the smell of something cooking outside. She slowly pulled herself up and realized that everyone was not in their sleeping bags. She got up and went outside the cave.  
  
Honda turned around to see her. "Good morning Chun-Li," he said. "Did you have a good night sleep?"  
  
Chun-Li smirked and shrugged. She sat down next to Honda and Guile. "What's for breakfast?" she asked.  
  
Guile showed her his plate of food. "Salmon and rice. There's no real breakfast available here."  
  
Chun-Li took a bowl and some rice.  
  
"So," said Johnny. "Today's the big day."  
  
"And I'm ready for it," said Dee Jay. "I want my opponent to feel my rhythm!"  
  
"Right," Johnny replied.  
  
"But I can't wait until tomorrow!" said Sakura. "I get to fight and show Ryu my new moves!"  
  
"Good luck then," said Sonya.  
  
When everyone finished their breakfast, they began their walk to the tournament ring.  
  
"So, what exactly happens when one loses the tournament again?" asked Guile.  
  
Rayden looks at him. "First, you die, then, they take your soul and then you're trap in the Underworld."  
  
Guile felt a shiver go up his spine.  
  
They arrived at the ring where a big crowd of people awaits. "This is a pretty big tournament," said Honda.  
  
"It sure is," said Dhalsim.  
  
"Remember," said Rose looking at Liu, Guy, and Dee Jay. "Fight with your souls, not anger. Let your hearts guide you."  
  
"Right," the three said.  
  
They went towards the ring. They saw a tall man with long black hair standing up from his large chair. "I am Shang Tsuang! Will the six fighters step into the ring!"  
  
Liu, Guy, and Dee Jay walked into the ring. Guy looked back to Kitana. "(I'll be thinking about you)" he thought.  
  
Three others came in as well. One wore a black and blue ninja outfit, one was bald with one part of his face made out of metal with a red eye, and one was just wearing all black covering his body and face.  
  
"First....Liu Kang versus Midnight!" (a/n: I totally made up Midnight).  
  
The other four stepped back. Liu and Midnight stood ten feet away from each other and stood in their fighting stances.  
  
"You can do it Liu!" cried Fei-Long.  
  
"Begin!" Shang cried.  
  
Midnight immediately ran towards Liu. Liu moved over to the side and put his arm out. His arm went into Midnight's stomach. Midnight fell forward and landed flat on his face. Quickly, he attempted to trip Liu. Liu jumped over his feet. Midnight got up and attempted a few punches.  
  
As he blocked, Liu smirked. "(This guy is WAY too easy to beat. How the hell did he get into this tournament anyways?)"  
  
Liu saw a spot and punched his stomach as hard as he can. Midnight went into a lot of pain. Liu did a series of punches until Midnight fell back. He wobbled a little.  
  
Shang stood up. "Finish him!"  
  
Liu jumped and did his rapid kicks until Midnight fell to the ground.  
  
"Winner....Liu Kang!" Shang cried.  
  
For a brief moment, people whispered. Then, they heard a quiet shriek sounding like it was being sucked by a vacuum cleaner. Then there was silence.  
  
Rayden bowed his head. "A demon has taken Midnight's soul."  
  
"So that's how their souls are taken," said Rolento staring at Midnight.  
  
Liu walked back towards his friends and Shang went back to his seat. "Next, Dee Jay versus Kano!"  
  
Dee Jay and Kano walked into the ring and stood in their stances.  
  
Sonya narrowed her eyes. "Kano," she growled.  
  
Chun-Li looked at her. "You know him?"  
  
"I've be chasing him for a long time. He smuggles drugs all around the world. He's a good fighter too."  
  
Dee Jay and Kano walked around making a circle. Kano smiled. "I'm going to make you squeal like a piggy," he said in his Australian accent.  
  
Dee Jay kept his smile. "Try me."  
  
Shang looked at both of them and then cried out, "Begin!"  
  
Kano jumped high in the air and aimed his foot. Dee Jay jumped after him and did a high kick in Kano's face.  
  
Kano fell on his back as Dee Jay fell on his feet. "I'm going to make you feel my rhythm!" he cried out.  
  
Kano ran right up to him and tried to kick him, but Dee Jay managed to make a series of punches at his face in a rhythmic way.  
  
"Now you're feeling my rhythm!" he cried.  
  
Kano then fell back.  
  
"Finish him!" Shang cried.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, Dan and Mika were going west into the woods still not realizing they were going the wrong way.  
  
"Shouldn't we be there by now?" asked Dan. "I know Kitana said south. Do you think were still going south?"  
  
"I hope we still are," said Mika. "I really want to get back soon enough to fight in the tournament."  
  
"Me too," Dan said.  
  
They were silent as they walked through the woods. Then, out of the blue, Dan cried out, "We're lost!"  
  
"Calm down," Mika cried out. "What makes you think we're lost?"  
  
Suddenly, Mika took a step and felt nothing under her. She felt herself beginning to fall down. She looked down and saw the ocean about twenty stories down.  
  
"DDDDDAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she cried.  
  
Dan took immediate action and grabbed hold of her wrist. He began to fall with her and grabbed a thin tree with his feet.  
  
"Hang on Mika!" he cried. Then he thought to himself, "(I've always been the clumsy one. Please don't let me screw this one up!)"  
  
***  
  
After hearing the command, Dee Jay slowly walked towards Kano, who was laying still.  
  
"I think he's already dead," said Guile.  
  
"Probably," said Johnny.  
  
Dee Jay looked down at him. Then, he looked up at Shang. "I think he's dead."  
  
Suddenly, Kano stood up and grinned evilly. "That's what you think!" he cried and gave him a blow in the head.  
  
Everyone gasped as Dee Jay fell to the ground.  
  
"I'll be proud to finish him!" Kano cried. He walked over to the fallen Dee Jay.  
  
"DEE JAY!!!" cried Fei-Long and Jax.  
  
(a/n: I know this is a move Kano doesn't do, at least I don't think he does it, but it's the only other one I can think of)  
  
Kano punched Dee Jay as hard as he can into his chest. Almost everyone turned around and shut their eyes.  
  
Sonya stared as Dee Jay's body turned lifeless. He fell back, with Kano's hand still there. Then, Kano quickly pulled out and pulled something round and bloody.  
  
Sonya gasped as she said, "Don't look, trust me!" She saw Ryu staring at Dee Jay with a bit of anger in his eyes.  
  
Kano spit and said, "Not you have a lifeless AND a heartless body."  
  
Shang stood up. "The winner....Kano!"  
  
Sonya bowed her head and thought, "(Dee Jay, I promise I will kill Kano, even if it's the last thing I do!)"  
  
As the small scream was heard, Guy shivered. "(Dee Jay, I will win for you as well as Kitana)"  
  
Then, only silence was around. Dee Jay's body was carried to the side where Midnight's body was. "Next up, Guy versus Sub-Zero!"  
  
"Go Guy!" cried Cody.  
  
Guy looked at Sub-Zero's eyes. They were brown and narrow. Sub-Zero did a couple of moves in the air before standing in his stance. Guy put his arms out and kept his legs as still as possible.  
  
"Begin!" Shang cried out.  
  
"Hee-ya!" Guy cried out immediately jumping in the air and putting one leg out. Sub-Zero followed and aimed at Guy. Guy began to spin himself as fast as he can. His leg connected with Sub-Zero's leg, making him fall onto his back hard.  
  
Guy landed on his feet and turned back to the fallen Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero immediately got up and flew after Guy.  
  
Guy blocked his kick and crouched low to the ground. He slid his body with his leg out and managed to trip Sub-Zero.  
  
They both got up and Sub-Zero manages to put Guy in a chokehold. To his surprise, he heard Sub-Zero whisper, "I want to make this match a draw."  
  
Guy raised one eyebrow. "Why?"  
  
Guy got out of Sub-Zero's chokehold by elbowing him in the stomach. Then he took his arm and flipped him. Guy crouched down.  
  
Sub-Zero looked up at him. "I only want to kill Shang Tsuang, no one else."  
  
Sub-Zero jumped and held Guy in another chokehold. "He murdered my brother in last year's tournament. Why are you here?"  
  
Guy got out of the chokehold again and pinned Sub-Zero down to the ground. "I'm here to help a friend. Shao Kahn killed the man who killed his best friend. Some other of my friends came along too."  
  
Sub-Zero grabbed Guy's arm. Suddenly, a form of ice surrounded Guy's arm. Guy pulled back and yelped in pain. "They don't call you Sub-Zero for nothing. I thought you were an assassian."  
  
Guy threw punches ignoring the pain. Sub-Zero replied. "I am, but only to murder Shang Tsuang, then I shall quit the clang."  
  
"How do we make this a draw without out souls taken away?"  
  
Sub-Zero smirked under his mask. "You'll be unconscious for a while, but it'll be worth it."  
  
Then, he smashed his head into his. Both Guy and Sub-Zero fell and blacked out.  
  
For a second, the ring was silent. "Ummm, okay," said Fei-Long. "How does that happen?"  
  
Shang stood up. "Double K.O!!"  
  
Ken felt a bit of panic and turned to Rayden. "So what happens?" he asked. "Do they both have their souls taken?"  
  
"No," Rayden said. "They'll have to go against each other sometime again." He narrowed his eyes at Sub-Zero. "I thought Shang killed him last year."  
  
***  
  
Dan held on to Mika as tight as he can. "Hang on Mika!" he cried, hoping that he won't screw this up.  
  
"I am!" Mika cried, trying not to look down at the ocean twenty stories below.  
  
Dan began to slowly pull her up and still tied to hold on to the branch with his feet. Then, Mika took her free hand and grabbed on to a part of the cliff. She began to pull herself up.  
  
Dan reached over with his free hand and grabbed on to Mika's shirt and began pulling her up. As Mika finally made it to solid ground, she lost her balance a little and landed on top of Dan.  
  
Mika smiled. "Dan! You saved my life! You're so brave!"  
  
Dan grinned. "Awe, I already knew that."  
  
Then there was a moment where the two were silent and looked at each other in the eyes. Then, in Mika's surprise, Dan pulled himself up a bit and lightly kissed Mika's lips. Mika didn't know how to react, so she decided to kiss him back. They shared a brief kiss until Mika pulled away.  
  
Dan remembered all the memories he shared with Mika since they first met in the Street Fighter Tournament. He touched Mika's face. "I think I love you," he said.  
  
Mika smiled. "I love you too Dan."  
  
They both got up. "Looks like we went the wrong way," Mika said. "We're going to have to find another trail that will lead us to Nightwolf."  
  
"You're right," Dan said. Then he shrieked, "Let's not waste time! We gotta find Nightwolf!" He grabbed Mika's hand and started running.  
  
"(Here we go again!)" Mika thought as Dan dragged her down into the woods.  
  
***  
  
"Guy, you're awake!" Cody said. Guy slowly opened his eyes and then looked around.  
  
"Where.....where am I?" Guy asked.  
  
Honda, who was nearby, laughed. "You're back in the cave! Sub-Zero knocked himself and you unconscious so both of you wouldn't have your souls taken away."  
  
Guy then felt heat on his arm. He looked over and saw Dhalsim blowing flames out of his mouth. The ice that formed around his arm began to melt.  
  
"Sub-Zero did a good job on freezing you," Dhalsim said. "This might take awhile."  
  
Guy looked up and saw Kitana next to Cody. "You all right?" she asked with a small smile.  
  
Guy smirked. "I'll be fine." Then he looked around. "Where's Sub-Zero?"  
  
"On the other side of the cave," Honda said. "I don't think he's awake yet."  
  
On the other side of the cave, Sub-Zero began to wake up. "Where am I?" he asked. He saw Ryu, Chun-Li, Sakura, and Liu. "Who are you?!"  
  
"People you've never met," said Liu.  
  
"Sonya asked us to watch over you," said Ryu.  
  
Sub-Zero sat up and held his head. "My head hurts."  
  
Chun-Li put a wet cloth over his head. "That's expected from someone who knocked himself and his opponent out."  
  
Then, Sakura turned to Liu. "What are they going to do with Dee Jay?"  
  
Liu sighed. "They'll be putting him in a temporary tomb until a helicopter comes to take his body back to Jamaica."  
  
Then, Rolento came by. Chun-Li saw the sad expression in his eyes. "Are you all right?" she asked.  
  
Rolento sighed. "I convinced Dee Jay to come with me to the tournament. I wanted to kill Shao Kahn for killing Bison who killed my wife. Now Dee Jay's dead and it's all my fault."  
  
Chun-Li got up and hugged him. "It's not your fault. Dee Jay fought for you and your wife."  
  
Rolento nodded.  
  
Late that night, Sub-Zero walked over to Guy who was still lying down on his sleeping bag. Sub-Zero's mask was off, revealing the big red scar on his face. He smirked. "I'm sorry I knocked you out there. I didn't have a choice."  
  
Guy laughed a little. "It's all right, except I have a headache now. How is everyone? I mean Dee Jay's......."  
  
"Some are dealing with it well, some are not," Sub-Zero replied. "Like they always say....the show must go on."  
  
Outside, Chun-Li sat by the fire with Ryu, Sakura, Kitana, Rose, and Guile. "I'm fighting tomorrow," she said.  
  
"So am I and I can't wait!" cried Sakura.  
  
"Just you be careful," said Guile. "You are young."  
  
"I will," she said with a smile. "Especially since I want to show my new moves to Ryu."  
  
"Don't put your concentration on that," said Rose. "Focus on the fight and you'll be fine."  
  
"Who is it that you're fighting?" Ryu asked Chun-Li.  
  
Chun-Li sighed. "Someone called Jade."  
  
Then she noticed Kitana's reaction. "What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
Kitana sighed. "Jade was once my best companion. She is one of Shao Kahn's workers."  
  
Chun-Li sighed.  
  
Sakura smiled. "I'm fighting Mileena!"  
  
Kitana showed more of her shocking reaction. "Now what?" asked Guile.  
  
Kitana sighed. "Mileena is my clone."  
  
"That's worse than a best friend, isn't it?" Chun-Li asked. Kitana only nodded in response.  
  
Then she stood up. "I must rest now. I'll be checking on Guy before I do."  
  
Guile showed a devilish grin. "From what I've seen, I think Guy has a crush on you!"  
  
Everyone but Ryu laughed.  
  
Kitana only smirked. "And what makes you think that?"  
  
"The way he looks and talks to you," Guile replied. "I know, I was in his spot once, and now I'm a married man with a beautiful daughter."  
  
Kitana showed a small smile. "Guy is sweet, and a good fighter." Then she yawned. "I must rest now. Good night."  
  
Everyone said good night to her before she began her walk to the cave.  
  
Sakura smiled. "Do you think Kitana may have a crush on Guy too?" she asked.  
  
Guile shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."  
  
Chun-Li looked at Ryu. He was meditating again. "(If only he knew my signs?)" she thought. Then she almost laughed as she thought, "(I wonder what happened to Dan and Mika? They have a tournament in two days and they're still not back! Come to think of it, they make a cute couple!)" 


	6. Ch 5: The Second Tournament

Chapter Five  
  
Chun-Li woke up before anyone else in the cave. She stretched out a little and walked outside to set up the fire. Today, she would fight Jade. She knew that if she beat her, she would be one step closer to getting to Shao Kahn.  
  
Just as the fire began, she heard someone coming out of the cave. She turned around and saw Ryu. "Good morning," he said. "You're usually the last person to get up in the morning."  
  
Chun-Li smirked a little. "Since I'm in the tournament today, I thought I'd get up early. It's just Sakura and I fighting today. I hope both of us live today."  
  
Ryu sat down next to her. Chun-Li looked at the burning fire. Once again, she thought about the memories with her father and how much she wanted to avenge his death.  
  
Ryu saw the look on Chun-Li's face and took her hand. Chun-Li was startled to feel his rough hand over hers. "Chun-Li," he said. "You're a very strong woman and I know that you can make it through this tournament. If you don't make it, I'm sure you'll will though, I promise I will beat Shao Kahn, for you and your father."  
  
Chun-Li looked into Ryu's eyes. She wanted to cry at that moment. She hugged him. "Thank you."  
  
As the sun began to rise, more people emerged from the cave. Jax looked around. "They're not back yet!" he cried.  
  
"Who?" asked Ken.  
  
"Dan and Mika," replied Sonya. "They have a tournament tomorrow and they're not back yet!"  
  
"I don't understand why they're not back yet," said Kitana. "Nightwolf only lives five miles from here."  
  
Ken burst out laughing. "It's Dan Hibiki, he could get lost anywhere, even in a paper bag."  
  
"Great," said Sonya. "Looks like we're going to have to replace them for tomorrow's tournament."  
  
***  
  
The sun began to rise more. Under a big tree, Mika opened her eyes and yawned a little. She looked over to the side and saw Dan snoring in his sleep. "(He's so cute when he snores)" she thought.  
  
Suddenly, Dan bolted up making Mika startled. "Good morning!" he cried out. He stretched himself out and stood on his feet. "So, what's for breakfast?"  
  
Mika stretched as well. "We're lost in the middle of a nameless island, so I don't know."  
  
Dan looked around. "I'm REALLY hungry. We haven't eaten anything in two days!" Suddenly, he heard something rattle in a bush.  
  
"FOOD!" he cried and started running towards it.  
  
"Dan!" Mika cried. "You don't even know what's............."  
  
Suddenly, Dan screamed, "SKUNK!" and began to run. (a/n: I'm pretty sure they're no skunks in Southwest Asia, but oh well () Mika saw the black and white animal leap out of the bushes and chasing after Dan.  
  
Dan jumped up into a tree and climbed to the highest point. Mika ran towards him. The skunk looked up at him for two seconds before running away.  
  
Mika laughed. "You can come down now, the skunk's gone!"  
  
Dan began to climb, but as he did, a branch broke under his foot. Dan tumbles about eight feet before landing flat on his rear.  
  
Mika ran up to him. "Are you okay?"  
  
Dan shook his head quickly. "A big branch broke while I stepped on it. I'm FAT! And I hurt my bottom!"  
  
Mika tried not to laugh at Dan's whining as she patted his back. "It's okay Dan, and you're not fat! The branch was probably weak in the first place."  
  
Dan sniffed. "You think so?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"But my bottom still hurts!"  
  
"It'll go away," Mika smiled. She helped him up. "Now let's try to find the trail again and find Nightwolf."  
  
She knew just saying Nightwolf's name made Dan happy. A huge grin came across his face. He jumped onto his feet and cried out. "Let's go!!" Knowing that Dan would grab her hand, Mika put her hand out as he grabbed it and began running.  
  
***  
  
After lunch, the fighters walked back to the tournament ring. Chun-Li and Sakura were dressed in their usual fighting uniforms.  
  
Chun-Li spotted two women, one African American, and one looking exactly like Kitana. She knew immediately that the African American woman was Jade. Both women wore a one-piece bathing suit-like uniforms laced in the middle. They both also wore long thigh-high boots and elbow-length gloves. Their faces were covered by a cloth from their chins to their noses and their long hairs were tied back. The only other difference was that Jade's uniform was green and Mileena's was pink.  
  
Shang stood up. "Welcome to the next part of the tournament. First up....Chun-Li versus Jade!"  
  
The two women stepped into the ring. Jade held a six-foot metal stick.  
  
Chun-Li looked at her spiked bracelets. "(With her weapon, it looks like I'll be needing these)"  
  
They both got into their fighting stances. As soon as Shang cried out, "Begin!" Jade jumped in the air with the weapon in her hand. She aimed the weapon at Chun-Li, but Chun-Li immediately stepped out of the way. As soon as Jade landed, Chun-Li attempted to kick her to knock her on the ground, but Jade quickly turned around and tripped her with her weapon. Chun-Li wasn't prepared for that, so she fell.  
  
"You can do it Chun-Li!!" cried Jax.  
  
Chun-Li heard this and immediately leaped in the air. Jade looked up at her, preparing for her attack. As Chun-Li fell towards her, Jade tightened her grip on her stick. Then, Jade jabbed the stick at her. Chun-Li quickly grabbed the stick and used it as a guide to her next attack. She slid down the stick with her hand and then punched Jade's face. Jade still managed to stay standing.  
  
Chun-Li landed on her feet and then Jade started using her stick to attack her. Chun-Li did her best to block every one of them. After a minute, Chun-Li became tired, but she wasn't about to give up. "You really love to just use your stick and not your own hands and feet. That makes you a coward."  
  
"You think so?" said Jade with an evil look in her eyes. "Sounds like to me that you can't stand my power."  
  
Chun-Li became angry. "I didn't want to do this, but you asked for it!" She then found an opening and took the back of her hand. She jabbed her spiked bracelet into Jade's chest, just missing the heart. Jade screamed in pain. Chun-Li quickly pulled out. The blood quickly gushed out. Jade soon became weak.  
  
"Finish her!" Shang shouted.  
  
Chun-Li flipped upside down and split her legs, one in front and one in back. She jumped up a little and began to spin herself fast. "Spinning bird kick!!" she shouted as she rapidly hit Jade's face. Soon, Jade went flying across the ring and landed on her back. She was then still.  
  
"The winner....Chun-Li!!"  
  
Her friends cheered for a few seconds before they got themselves prepared for that small scream meaning the demon would be taking Jade's soul.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"Why isn't that scream around?" Chun-Li asked.  
  
Rayden bowed his head. "Because she is not dead."  
  
Then, to everyone's surprise, Jade rose up. Chun-Li went into shock as she picked up her stick. Jade narrowed her eyes at Chun-Li who was ready in her fighting stance. "This isn't over yet!" she shouted and then leaped out of the ring. Chun-Li put her guard down.  
  
"Next," Shang cried. "Sakura versus Mileena!!"  
  
Chun-Li sighed and walked out of the ring.  
  
Sakura jumped into the ring with excitement in her eyes. "Get ready!" she cried out.  
  
Mileena narrowed her brown eyes at Sakura. "Oh I'm ready all right. Say, aren't you a little young to fight in this tournament?"  
  
In the audience, Guile turned to Rayden. "I hope Sakura can do this."  
  
Shang stood up once again. "Begin!!"  
  
Before Sakura made a move, Mileena took out her Sais. She aimed them at Sakura and began running towards her. When Mileena was close enough, Sakura jumped as high as she can over her. Then, Mileena tried to jab the sai into Sakura's leg, but ended up scratching her deeply. Sakura yelped in pain and fell on her side. The blood gushed out, but she did her best to ignore it as she stood up and got back to her fighting stance.  
  
Mileena aimed at Sakura again, but Sakura quickly moved out of the way. She threw a high kick at Mileena's face. It connected and Mileena stumbled a bit but regained her composure. "You think that was suppose to hurt?!" Mileena asked before aiming her sai at Sakura. This time, she jabbed her in the shoulder.  
  
"Sakura!!" cried Ken. He turned to Rayden. "She's not ever twenty yet! Isn't their a rule that you have to be older than twenty-one to be in this tournament?"  
  
Rayden bowed his head once again. "I'm afraid not. There really aren't many rules in this tournament." Guile heard this and brought his blue eyes back towards Sakura.  
  
Sakura dodged another jab from Mileena. She felt herself getting weaker from the blood loss. She fell on her knees. Shang stood up and cried, "Finish her!!"  
  
The tears formed in Sakura's eyes. "(At least I will die for Ryu. Oh how I wish I could tell him my feelings!)  
  
Mileena smiled an evil grin under her pink cloth and raised one of her sais over her head. "All I have to do is prick you in the heart." Sakura closed her eyes.  
  
Suddenly, Sakura felt a tug under her back and the back of her knees and being lifted in the air. She still had her eyes closed as the person carrying her dashed out of the ring.  
  
"That's enough!" Sakura heard. Her heart fluttered as she opened her eyes and looked up at Ryu who held her. He narrowed his eyes at Mileena. "Spare one's life just this once."  
  
For a brief moment, Ryu and Mileena's eyes were narrow and they stared at each other. Then Mileena said with a sigh, "The tournament IS about the fight to the death, but I guess I can spare one's life just this once." She walked closer to Ryu and lowered the tone in her voice. "When Chun-Li fought Jade, I saw that look in her eye, like you felt like your heart will break if Jade killed Chun-Li."  
  
Ryu only stared and said nothing. Sakura's loss of blood made her too weak to understand nothing but the fact that her love was holding her.  
  
Mileena evilly smiled under her cloth. Ryu saw that through her eyes. "Just you remember this.....neither Chun-Li or Jade were killed during their battle. One does have to die you know." Before Ryu said anything, Mileena, like Jade, leaped out of the ring.  
  
Other tournaments continued on as Ryu carried Sakura towards the back of the audience. Sakura began to focus a little more as she said, "I've failed you Ryu."  
  
Ryu could only smirk. "It'll be all right. We got to get you back to the cave."  
  
A half hour later, bandages were wrapped around Sakura's ankle and shoulder. Sonya was helping her when she said, "If Mileena went deeper into your shoulder, she could've hit a major artery. No one really loses AND lives through a battle in this tournament EVER. You're very lucky."  
  
Sakura nodded.  
  
"And Sakura," said Jax taking her hand. "I think it's better off if you went back home. I, um, know you want to be here, especially with, um, Ryu, but for someone your age, it's better off. What you went through today might get worse if you went against another person. I'm not saying you're not strong. You're not only very strong, but very brave too."  
  
Sakura forced a small smile. The tears formed in her eyes knowing that she had to leave.  
  
Sonya sighed. "It's for your own good."  
  
"Will Ryu be okay?" she asked.  
  
Jax sighed. "From what Liu told me, Ryu is a great fighter. I'm positive that he'll be fine. We'll send you letter updating you about the tournament."  
  
Sakura smiled a little more.  
  
That evening, a helicopter landed in front of the cave. Sonya, Jax, Ryu, and Chun-Li helped Sakura onto the helicopter.  
  
"It was great having you here," Chun-Li said.  
  
"Thanks," said Sakura. She looked at Ryu. "When I recover, I'm going to make myself stronger! I hope I can train with you one day, Ryu."  
  
Ryu only smirked and nodded. Sakura got into the helicopter. One of the pilots shut the door and then it went on its way to Japan.  
  
Chun-Li looked at Ryu and smiled. "If it wasn't for you, Sakura wouldn't be alive right now."  
  
Ryu turned to her. "I couldn't let her die. She has so much to live for."  
  
"Ryu," Chun-Li said after a brief silence. "What did Mileena say to you after you got Sakura out of the ring?"  
  
Ryu stared into her eyes.  
  
***  
  
Later that evening, Dan and Mika kept walking through the woods. "I think we're lost again!!" he cried out.  
  
Mika laughed and held Dan's hand. "I'm sure we're going the right way this time."  
  
Dan felt her soft hand on his and grinned. Mika smiled back.  
  
Suddenly, they heard a noise within the woods, like someone was around.  
  
Dan's smile grew larger. "Do you think that could be him?!"  
  
Mika slowly walked over towards the noise. The crunching of the leaves became louder and louder.  
  
"Nightwolf?" she whispered.  
  
Suddenly, she saw something snake-like darting towards her. Mika saw the redness in its eyes. She shrieked and moved out of the way quickly. The thing just missed Dan's nose.  
  
"What was that?!" he cried out. "Was it Nightwolf?" He stared at the rest of the thing's long, narrow body.  
  
"Looks more like a snake to me," Mika said. Her eyes widened. "Dan, I think someone's after us!!"  
  
That when another snake-like thing darted at them following a loud, echoing shout; "GET OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
The snake wrapped around Dan's arm. Dan was lifted and tossed around in the air.  
  
Mika went into the shock as someone emerged from the bushes. The person wore a black and yellow Lin Kuei uniform. His eyes were pure white.  
  
Mika gasped. She recognized this person from pictures that she's seen before coming to the island. "Scorpion!!"  
  
The snake that they saw first came from behind Mika and wrapped itself around her waist. She too was lifted in the air.  
  
Dan was upside down when Mika was being tossed in the air. "Do you think I can be right side up?" Dan asked Scorpion. "I think the blood in my body is affecting my brain more than it already is!"  
  
Scorpion stared at the two for a while before throwing them and letting go in mid-air. Dan and Mika shrieked as they flew across the wood wondering where they were going to land.  
  
***  
  
As everyone slept in the cave, Chun-Li stayed up once again for a while. She thought about Ryu's heroic effort this afternoon. She smirked to herself. "(I think Sakura would end up being killed if Ryu hadn't been there)"  
  
Just before she closed her eyes, Chun-Li saw a figure standing over her. It was too dark for her to see, but she could see that the person wore a Lin Kuei uniform.  
  
"Sub-Zero?" she said. She reached over to turn on the gas on her lantern.  
  
"Chun-Li!! Look out!!" she heard someone cry. As she turned to the voice, she saw Sub-Zero up on his feet in his regular clothes. Chun-Li looked up at the figure and gasped. Standing over her, the man was not wearing the black and blue Lin Kuei uniform....  
  
It was black and green.  
  
"Reptile!" Sub-Zero cried. 


	7. Ch 6: The Battles with Reptile and Scorp...

Chapter Six  
  
  
  
The entire cave echoed in a shriek. Everyone in the cave woke up.  
  
"What the heck?!" said Honda. "It's too late to spar in here."  
  
When he looked up, he was a bit startled himself. "Hey Sub-Zero, is that like you relative or something?" He looked up at the man in the black and green Lin Kuei uniform.  
  
"Reptile, I'll deal with you!" Sub-Zero cried out. He ran over to Reptile who stood over Chun-Li. Reptile turned around and spit at Sub-Zero. He dodged out of the way knowing full well that it wasn't saliva he wasn't spitting. The liquid flew across and hit a wall. A hole began to burn in the wall.  
  
Chun-Li quickly stood up. Before she made a move, Reptile threw a punch. Chun-Li didn't see this coming and was hit hard. She flew back and hit the wall.  
  
Sonya and Jax stood up and ran towards Reptile from behind. Reptile turned around to face them. He jumped and kicked both of them in the stomach at the same time. They fell back. Everyone else in the cave got up from their sleeping bags.  
  
Sub-Zero turned to Sonya and Jax who got up. "Get the others out of here," he said. "Reptile is a good fighter and very dangerous. He has the ability to spit and puke acid."  
  
Then, Reptile came towards Jax and did a roundhouse kick at his stomach. Jax didn't have time to block and was hit.  
  
Sonya turned to the others and looked at Ryu. "We'll take care of this. You get the others out of here."  
  
"What about Chun-Li?" asked Kitana.  
  
That's when they heard someone cry, "Kikoken!!" Everyone knew what that meant and ducked. A big ball of energy flew over their heads and out of the cave.  
  
They straighten themselves up. "She'll be fine," Sonya said. She looked at Ryu. "Get them out of here."  
  
Ryu nodded and lead everyone out of the cave but not before looking at Chun- Li for a moment.  
  
Reptile was surrounded in a circle by Chun-Li, Sub-Zero, Sonya, and Jax. "You're surrounded now," Jax said. He bend down and punched down at the ground. "Hang on." The ground began to shake.  
  
Outside the cave, everyone felt the ground shake as well.  
  
"Earthquake!!!" cried Cody. Everyone lost their balance except Dhalsim who immediately floated in the air.  
  
Guy looked towards the cave. "Do you think they're all right?" he asked. "Reptile does spit acid."  
  
"And puke," said Honda.  
  
"As long as they fight with their souls, they'll be fine," said Rose.  
  
Back inside the cave, Reptile just spit another glob of acid at Jax. Unfortunately, Jax didn't see it and was hit in his left metal arm.  
  
"JAX!!" cried Sonya.  
  
Jax immediately took his metal arm off revealing his real arm. The metal arm quickly melting until there was nothing left.  
  
"Damn," Jax said.  
  
Sonya jumped in the air and put her legs around Reptile's shoulder. She tried to flip but Reptile got a hold of her. He took her by the legs and swinged her around for a few seconds and then let go. As the other three called out her name, Sonya flew a hundred feet through the cave. She hit the wall head first and tumbled down to the ground. Then she laid still.  
  
Jax, Chun-Li, and Sub-Zero turned back to Reptile knowing that Sonya was down. Reptile spit another glob of acid.  
  
"Man he likes to do that!" said Jax. Sub-Zero put his hand out. A second later, the acid was turned into solid ice. It quickly dropped and landed on the ground smashing it into pieces.  
  
Reptile jumped in the air and hanged on to the ceiling of the cave with his bare hands. He kicked Jax in the face hard. Jax flew to the same wall Sonya hit. He hit his head only hard enough to weaken him badly.  
  
Sub-Zero and Chun-Li stood in their fighting stances as Reptile jumped back to the ground.  
  
"Looks like it's you and me, Chun-Li," said Sub-Zero.  
  
They both ran over to Reptile and both punched him in the face. Reptile grabbed Chun-Li by the arm and pulled her over to her.  
  
"Let her go!" Sub-Zero cried. He put his hand out. A second later, Reptile's arm froze.  
  
"Sub-Zero, that's cold!!" cried Chun-Li.  
  
Reptile held Chun-Li with his other arm and threw his frozen arm at Sub- Zero's head. The ice shattered into pieces and Sub-Zero fell with a little amount of blood trickling down his face. He too laid still.  
  
"No!!" Chun-Li cried looking at Sub-Zero. She then became a little relieved as she heard a faint moan from him.  
  
Reptile turned her so they would face each other. Chun-Li could see in his eyes that he was smiling evilly. She became terrified, not knowing what he was going to do next.  
  
Then, Reptile grabbed her by the neck with both of his hands and lifted her in the air. Chun-Li tried to pry his hands off, but he was too strong. When she ran out of oxygen, she simply held on to his wrist.  
  
"(Father, I've failed you,)" she thought. "(I will be joining you now.)"  
  
***  
  
"Help!!" Dan cried. He and Mika were flying over the trees after Scorpion tossed them with his silver snakes.  
  
After flying a mile, they started to fall towards the trees. They landed on the ground. Mika landed first on her side. She looked up and saw Dan fall. He hit his head on a tree and fall to the ground.  
  
"DAN!!!!!" Mika cried. She ran over to Dan. He was still awake and he moaned a little.  
  
"Mika," Dan said feeling weak. He tried to get up but couldn't. "Get out of here before Scorpion finds you."  
  
"No Dan!" Mika shouted. "Leaving you is the last thing I'll ever do!"  
  
That's when she sensed someone behind her. Mika turned around and gasped as she saw Scorpion standing over her.  
  
"GET OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!!!" Scorpion shouted. He put his hand out and the silver snake darted after her. It wrapped around Mika's arm and pulled her towards him. Mika put her fist out and punch Scorpion's face as soon as she was close. She did a karate chop on the snake on her arm and chopped it into two pieces. Scorpion stood up his white eyes in rage. Mika went into her fighting stance with determination in her face.  
  
Scorpion darted around her quickly and attempted to put her in a hold. Mika saw this just in time and grabbed him from behind. She flipped herself smashed Scorpion on his back. Scorpion bounced off the ground a few times. He and Mika both got up at the same time.  
  
For a while, they stood in their fighting stance. Mika stared into his white eyes. "(Why is trying to kill me and Dan? Is he part of Outworld? If so, he's probably trying to kill us before we become stronger.)"  
  
Scorpion stood there in his stance, his white eyes glowing. He looked at Mika. Then, he stood up straight still looking at her.  
  
"(What is he doing?)" Mika asked herself.  
  
He began to take his mask off slowly.  
  
Mika lowered her guard a little. "(Does he want to make peace?)"  
  
Mika thought this could be a good thing....until Scorpion took off his mask fully. Mika gasped and became scared for the first time in a long time. Scorpion didn't reveal his face...he revealed his skull!  
  
Scorpion pulled back a little and opened his mouth. Mika got back into her stance. Then, a big line of fire came out of his mouth. Mika jumped out of the way and the fire went towards Dan.  
  
"Look out!!" Mika cried. The fire landed right next to Dan, but one flame lit the rear part of Dan's pink gi.  
  
"YEOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Dan hollered out. He shot up in the air despite hitting his head on the tree. He ran around in circles for two seconds before quickly sitting down again. Then the fire went out.  
  
"That hurt!!" Dan said standing up. He jumped up and darted towards Scorpion and did a few hard kicks at his face. Scorpion fell back. As he landed on the ground, Scorpion sank quickly in.  
  
Dan and Mika stood there in their stances looking down at the ground. They waited for Scorpion to dart back up. After two minutes, nothing happen.  
  
Dan wobbled a little and then fell forward as he felt his weakness coming back to him.  
  
"Dan," Mika said. She ran over to him and caught him just in time. "You'll be all right."  
  
Dan looked up at her and grinned. "I know I'll be, but I think I need to rest."  
  
Mika looked up at the dark sky. "You're right," Mika said kissing Dan's forehead. "Let's rest here for the night." She leaned against a nearby tree still holding Dan in her arms.  
  
"I need a new gi!" Dan whined. Then, he fell asleep followed by a loud snore.  
  
Mika stroked his long hair a little. "(He's so cute when he's like that.)" Then, she fell asleep.  
  
What they didn't know was that Scorpion was nearby. He watched them slumber for a while before disappearing back to the Underworld.  
  
***  
  
"It's quiet over there," said Fei-Long with a worried look on his face. "Do you think they're still alive in there?"  
  
That statement scared Ryu a little. He stared into the cave. No one was coming out and worse, no noise came out. He started to run into the cave.  
  
"Ryu!" cried Ken. "What are you doing?" He began to run after him.  
  
Guile stepped in and stopped him. "You stay out here. Watch the others." Guile followed Ryu into the cave.  
  
When the men got into the camp part of the cave, horror came over them. They saw Reptile holding Chun-Li in a chokehold high in the air. Chun-Li was getting weaker.  
  
"Hang on Chun-Li!" Guile cried. Ryu ran towards them and jumped into the air. He put one leg out and began spinning around rapidly.  
  
"TATSUMAKI SENPUKYAKU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ryu shouted. His feet connected with Reptile's head a few times. Reptile let go of Chun-Li. She began to fall to the ground. Guile ran over to her and caught her.  
  
Chun-Li looked up at him. "Guile?"  
  
Guile put her down. "You'll be all right, kid," he said. He stood up. Ryu was still in his fighting stance as Reptile stood up and ran towards him.  
  
Guile collecting some energy and threw his hand out. A yellow boomerang shaped energy flew quickly towards Reptile.  
  
"SONIC BOOM!!!!!" Guile cried out. The energy hit Reptile hard enough to send him flying out of the cave.  
  
Ryu and Guile ran out of the cave. They saw everyone else, but Reptile was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"He just leaped and disappeared," said Johnny.  
  
Chun-Li emerged from the cave. She was wobbling as she tried to breathe in oxygen.  
  
Ryu turned to her. "Chun-Li," he said. He ran to her. She hugged him and sobbed in his arms knowing that she came close to death and not being able to avenge her father. For a while, no one moved and all was heard was Chun- Li sobbing.  
  
Dhalsim walked over to Ryu and Chun-Li. "Come on back to the cave," he said. "We need our sleep."  
  
Chun-Li looked up at Dhalsim. She wasn't sure if she could sleep anymore. She didn't know if Reptile was hiding somewhere and was waiting for her to fall back to sleep so he could make his strike.  
  
Ryu wiped a tear from her face. "I'll sleep by you tonight," he said.  
  
Chun-Li hugged him. "Thank you."  
  
Then, Sub-Zero emerged from the cave. He held Sonya and Jax in each arm. They too were awake.  
  
"Is everyone okay?" Sonya asked.  
  
Everyone nodded.  
  
Sub-Zero smiled. "Reptile's out of out hair."  
  
Guile looked up into the sky. "(Something tells me we haven't seen the last of Reptile.)" 


	8. Ch 7: The Third Tournament

Chapter Seven  
  
  
  
"Where the hell are they?" said Jax. While everyone was eating their breakfast in the cave, Jax walked around in anger.  
  
"Who?" asked Cody.  
  
"Who do you think? Dan and R. Mika!! They're suppose to have their tournaments today and they're STILL not back!!"  
  
Cody nearly laughed. "Wow, it's been so quiet around here that I forgot Dan was with us."  
  
"Quiet?!" cried Fei-Long. "What about last night with that green freak?!"  
  
Chun-Li felt a chill go up her spine. She was still a little traumatized about last night.  
  
"Never mind that!" Jax shouted. He looked at all the fighters seriously. "All right, we're going to need two fighters to take Dan and Mika's place. I'll take Dan's place. Anyone want to take Mika's place?"  
  
Guile, Liu, Johnny, and Fei-Long raised their hands.  
  
"Liu, you fought the other day!"  
  
"I know," Liu said with a little smile. "I'm getting out of practice. I need a real fight."  
  
Jax sighed. "Guile, you're fighting tomorrow, so it's between Johnny and Fei-Long."  
  
The two actors looked at each other. "How are we going to decide who's going to fight?" asked Fei-Long.  
  
"I don't know!" Jax said.  
  
"Rock, paper, scissors!!" cried out Ken.  
  
Some of the fighters looked at Ken in a weird way. "What?" he said shrugging.  
  
"Fine," Johnny said. "Two out of three."  
  
The actors stood up. They shook their hands to their side. "Rock, paper, scissor!" They shot their hands out next to each other. Johnny's hand was curled into a fist and Fei-Long's hand was flat.  
  
"Paper covers rock," Fei-Long said and covered Johnny's hand.  
  
They went through another round. When their hands were next to each other, Johnny's hand made a peace sign and Fei-Long's hand was flat again.  
  
Johnny said with boredom in his voice, "Scissor cuts paper."  
  
Then, the final round came. In the end, Johnny's hand was flat and Fei- Long's hand was curled into a fist.  
  
Johnny smirked a little. "Paper covers rock." He folded his arms. "Looks like I'll be fighting today."  
  
"All right," said Jax. "Johnny and I will be fighting today along with Rolento."  
  
Rolento got his battle stick out and twirled it a little. "I'm looking forward to it."  
  
***  
  
Dan opened his eyes. He saw that the sky was a bright blue meaning that the sun was up.  
  
He looked over and saw Mika laying down in the dirt sound asleep. "(I better keep quiet)" he thought.  
  
Just as he began to tiptoe his way around, he tripped over a big log and scrapped his knee.  
  
"OW!!!" he cried.  
  
Mika opened her eyes and saw Dan slumped over. She giggled a little. "You're so clumsy."  
  
Dan quickly got up. Mika stood up as well. She looked up and smiled. "Look up there."  
  
Dan looked up and jumped with excitement. On the tree was peaches hanging on the branches. "Breakfast!!" he cried. "After last night, I'm so hungry I could eat a elephant and swallow it whole." He began to climb the tree.  
  
"Don't fall like last time," Mika said.  
  
Dan managed to grab a few peaches and hand them over to Mika without doing anything clumsy. Then he climbed back down. He and Mika sat down and ate the peaches quickly.  
  
When they were done, Dan let out a loud burp. "That was good." He looked at the trail. "I wonder how much longer it will take us to find Nightwolf?"  
  
Mika let out a loud gasp. Dan heard this and got up standing in his fighting stance. "What?! Is Scorpion back?" He looked around the woods.  
  
"No Dan," Mika said. "Today's our tournament and we're going to miss it because we're lost."  
  
Dan got out of his stance. "Well then let's get going! We gotta find Nightwolf."  
  
Mika got up. "I'll lead the way this time." She quickly kissed his lips before they walking south (finally) of the trail. Dan held her hand. Mika blushed a little and smiled at him.  
  
"Good thing I'm here," Dan said. "Scorpion would've killed you if it wasn't for my Dankukyaku."  
  
"True," Mika replied. "And if he also hadn't burned that cute butt of yours, I probably would be dead."  
  
Dan nearly leaped when she said 'cute butt.' It was the first time in his life that any girl said that.  
  
They continued walking down the trail in silence. Sometimes, they would look around the woods just to see if Scorpion would return.  
  
***  
  
The fighters entered the ring. The ring this time was indoors due to bad weather.  
  
Shang stood up. "Will the first six fighters, please step forward," he said. Rolento, Jax, and Johnny stepped forward along with three other fighters.  
  
"First," said Shang. "Johnny versus Vega!"  
  
"What?!!!!" cried all the Street Fighters. They looked up to see the tall man they know full well. He wore a mask and his long blond hair was braided back. He struck out his claws.  
  
Guile narrowed his eyes. "Looks like Shao Kahn took some of Bison's commanders as well."  
  
Johnny and Vega faced each other. Vega laughed. "Looks like this will be a very easy fight. I was hoping to fight a woman today, but I guess since she hasn't shown up, I'll be fighting another weak being."  
  
Johnny laughed. "And it looks like I AM going to fight a woman!"  
  
Vega became angry as Shang shouted, "BEGIN!!"  
  
Johnny ran towards Vega, but Vega leaped into the air. Johnny looked up to find him, but the Spanish Ninja was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Johnny felt a sharp, piercing pain going down his back. Vega has jumped down and scratched Johnny deeply into his back. The blood gushed out right away.  
  
Johnny turned around and looked up at him. "What the hell was that for?" he shouted.  
  
Vega laughs under his mask. "What's wrong Johnny? Can't handle my claws?"  
  
Johnny became a bit angry and starts to attack with his few kicks and punches. Vega blocked a few moves, but sometimes, he would miss and would get hit. Then, Vega jumped again, but not before slashing Johnny in the arm with his claws.  
  
Johnny moved out of the way as Vega landed on the opposite side of the ring. Johnny looked at him in anger. "Why don't you take that mask off? Are you so ugly that you refuse to let people see your dirty face?"  
  
This, of course, insulted Vega. Vega rolled over to Johnny and striked his claws at Johnny. He only manages to scratch Johnny's leg. Vega stood up and took his mask off revealing his handsome face and blue eyes. "No, it's not that I'm ugly..it's to protect my beautiful face."  
  
"Really?" Johnny said with a big smirk on his face. He manages to run at Vega fast and punch him a few times in the face.  
  
"Johnny, no!!" Ken cried knowing full well what would happen if anyone laid a finger on Vega's 'beautiful' face.  
  
Vega whines a little after Johnny pulls back. "My beautiful face!!" he cried. He put his mask back on and looked at Johnny with rage. "You a**hole!!!!! I'll make you go to hell!!!!" He darts at Johnny and slashes him a few times.  
  
"Johnny!!!" Sonya cried out. She watched in horror as her companion gets his beating.  
  
Vega pulls back. Johnny's eyes start to become blurry. He could feel his blood pouring out of him.  
  
He fell to his knees.  
  
Shang stands up. "Finish him!!"  
  
"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sonya cried. She looked at Johnny with tears in her blue eyes. She tried to jump into the ring, but Jax stops her.  
  
Johnny looks at his companions one last time. He takes off his sunglasses and tosses them to Fei-Long. Fei-Long catches them and looks at Johnny.  
  
"Farewell," Johnny said. He took his last deep breath as Vega strikes and stabs his claws deep into his chest.  
  
"This is for hurting my face," Vega said with a laugh. Then, Johnny went limp.  
  
Tears steamed down Sonya's face. As the room became silent, she runs out of the arena.  
  
"Sonya!" cried Liu. He, Ken, and Rose follow her.  
  
The quiet scream was heard.  
  
Fei-Long looked at his sunglasses. '(I'll never forget you)' Then, he felt guilt coming over his heart. '(If only I won rock, paper, scissors....)'  
  
Shang stood up again. "Next....Jax versus Balrog."  
  
They watch as the ex-boxer jumps into the ring. Jax walks in with only one of his metals arms on.  
  
Ryu says to Jax, "Aim at the legs, it's his weakness."  
  
"BEGIN!!!" Shang cries out.  
  
Jax takes Ryu's word and punches the ground with his right arm. The ground shakes and Balrog loses his balance. As he tries to get up, Jax runs over to him and punches him a few times, but then Balrog throws a few punches at his face. Jax bends down and trips him over.  
  
Balrog tries to get up; Jax punches him hard in the gut. The wind gets knocked out of Balrog. He falls to his knees. After not getting up for a minute, Shang cries, "Finish him!!"  
  
Jax smiles. "Everyone better have a towel," he said. He punches Balrog rapidly. Balrog tries to block but he was too weak. Then, Jax makes a final punch in the gut and Balrog explodes, blood and bones flying everywhere.  
  
"Brutality!!" Shang cries. "Jax wins!!"  
  
Jax scratches the back of his head. "He was too easy!"  
  
Then, they heard the quiet scream.  
  
***  
  
The evening begins to dawn in. Dan and Mika haven't eaten since this morning.  
  
"I still have leftover peaches from breakfast," said Mika.  
  
Dan whines, "But I don't want peaches!!" Then, he smiled suddenly. "Look, berries!!" He runs over to a bush full of berries and starts eating them. Mika wasn't in the mood for berries, so she began to get a few peaches.  
  
"Mika, you have to try this," said Dan. "These are probably the best berries I've ever had!!"  
  
About ten minutes later, Dan has already eaten half of the berries on the bush. "I don't feel good," Dan said holding his stomach.  
  
Mika giggled a little and patted his back. "You probably ate too much."  
  
That's when they heard someone cry, "My bush!!!" They were startled and turned to a small old man carrying a basket. "How much of it did you eat?"  
  
Dan gulped. "Um..eh..half the bush??"  
  
"You idiot!!" the old man cried. "Those berries are poisonous!! Two or three you'll be okay, but half the bush, you're a goner!!"  
  
"What!!?" Mika cried. She turned to Dan, who felt sick to his stomach.  
  
"Come on," The old man said. "I know how to cure it. We only have twenty- four hours until he's a goner."  
  
Mika helps Dan up and the three of them walk a mile south until they saw a small wooden hut. The old man turned to them. "My name is Hereto, I'm a wizard."  
  
"A wizard?" asked Mika.  
  
"Yes," Hereto said.  
  
Dan smiled, "Are you related to Harry Potter? I've always wanted to meet him, he's a wizard too."  
  
Hereto ignored him. "I can make a medicine that can cure your friend. Hurry, I must get started since this medicine takes me twenty-three hours to make."  
  
They go into the hut and they put Dan on a small bed. Hereto went into a lab full of different kinds of chemicals.  
  
Mika held on to Dan's hand. "Don't worry, everything will be all right."  
  
***  
  
After Rolento's victory (a/n: sorry guys I'm too lazy to type his fighting scene) everyone returned to the cave. That night, Chun-Li and Rose sat with Sonya. Tears steamed down Sonya's face.  
  
"I wish I could've done something," said Sonya. "Just like when Ryu saved Sakura." Her hands curled up into fists. "I'll make Vega pay for what he did!!!"  
  
"Sonya, dear," Rose said. "I know Johnny's death overwhelms you, but you still have a tournament to fight. You have to put your anger aside."  
  
Sonya looked up at her. "Rose, you're sweet, but God HE KILLED SOMEONE I LOVE!!!!!!!"  
  
Chun-Li and Rose were both shocked when they heard this. Boy was Sonya good at keeping something like that to herself.  
  
Sonya calmed down a little. "Yeah, I did love him, but I was too busy being occupied with my job and now I will never get the chance to tell him how I felt."  
  
This statement made Chun-Li think. She loves her father, but her job as an Interpol agent and trying all she can to avenge him was all she could think about. Like Sonya, she was very occupied with her job. "(What if Ryu gets killed before I ever get the chance to tell him how I feel?)"  
  
Outside, Fei-Long sat by the fire looking at Johnny's sunglasses. Al thought he and Johnny only knew each other for a few days, he felt as if they've known each other for a long time. Fei-Long felt his angry within himself. "(Why did he have to die?)"  
  
He put on Johnny's sunglasses and stared at the fire. 


	9. Ch 8: A Dream, Past, and Flashbacks

Chapter Eight  
  
  
  
During the night, Guile stayed up for awhile while the others were sleeping. He was to fight in tomorrow's tournament along with Ryu. "(I hope I can win this tournament)" he thought. "(For Charlie. Since Shao killed the man I want to get revenge on, I want to get to Shao and kick his a**)"  
  
He shut his eyes. A horrible memory came before him...  
  
(Flashback)  
  
Guile and his best friend Charlie sat on the ground slumped over. They were just given more drugs that would weaken them.  
  
They heard the cell door open. They both looked up slowly. Standing over them was a tall, muscular man in his red army gear, steel boots, and the unmistakable gray cape. His white eyes, which sort of hid behind the visor of his gray cap, stared down at them.  
  
Guile knew who this was. "Bison."  
  
Bison gave them a sneer smile. "My two favorite US Military men. How was your treatment?"  
  
To Guile's surprise, Charlie slowly stood up. "You won't get away with this, Bison!"  
  
"Really?" Bison said. "What makes you think you could beat me in your condition?"  
  
Then, Charlie ran after him without a word.  
  
"Charlie, no!!" Guile cried out. He put out his hand to reach for his best friend, but Charlie was too far to reach.  
  
Charlie threw a sonic boom at Bison. Bison only sneered and pushed it out of the way. The sonic boom flew across the cell and out the cell window. Charlie still ran after him.  
  
As soon as Charlie was close, Bison grabbed him by the neck. He held him up for a few seconds. Then, Guile heard it.....a bone breaking into two.  
  
"CHARLIE!!" Guile cried out. He could do nothing but watch Bison drop Charlie. Charlie fell to the ground like a rag doll. He landed and moved no more. Guile wanted to go after Bison, but he was too weak to do so.  
  
Bison turned around. "Just let that be a reminder to you.....never be a foolish lad." Then he walked out of the cell leaving Guile and his now- dead best friend behind.  
  
(End of Flashback)  
  
"(Charlie)" Guile thought as he began to fall asleep. "(I will win tomorrow tournament for you)"  
  
Nearby, Rolento was up as well. He twirled around his stick thinking about his victory this afternoon.  
  
Then, a beautiful woman appeared in his thoughts. She was tall and thin with long wavy brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Every night, Rolento would think about this woman.  
  
"(Denise)" he thought.  
  
(Flashback)  
  
Seventeen years ago, Rolento and his wife Denise were coming home from dinner for their ten-year anniversary. They were a happy couple, even thought they don't have children.  
  
Then, they were passing a factoring when they heard a commotion. Suddenly, they saw a thin man with a beard running off with a gun in his hand. A handful of police officers were chasing after him. Rolento and Denise were too shocked to move. Then, to their surprise, the madman saw Denise, grabbed her, and put the gun to her head.  
  
"Stand back!!" the man said. "Or else she gets it." He began to move back.  
  
Rolento will never forget the look in his wife's eyes. He saw her fear and just seeing that brought him to tears.  
  
As soon as the man was far enough from Rolento and the police, he smiled evilly and said, "Fools!" He pushed Denise away from him and pulled the trigger. The bullet went into Denise's chest. She fell to the ground and became lifeless.  
  
A few police officers chased the man down while two of them stayed with Rolento as he cried and held his dead wife in his arms.  
  
Seven years later, Rolento was investigating Shadowlaw. When he saw a picture of Bison, he immediately recognized the man responsible for Denise's death.  
  
(End of Flashback)  
  
Rolento shook his head. Bison may be dead now, but the man who took his life is another madman ten times worse. "(I'll get you, Shao Kahn!)"  
  
(A Dream)  
  
The man stood on a hill and looked up into the sky. A tall, muscular figure stood in front of him. He wore gray pants, spiked bracelets, a gray cape connected to spiked shoulder pads, and a horned helmet. A skull mask covers his face except his chin.  
  
"Guy Hinato, yes?" the man asked.  
  
Guy narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
The man laughed. "The leader of Outworld."  
  
Then, Guy's brown eyes widened. "Shao Kahn!"  
  
"That's right," Shao said. "I've been watching all of you in your little cave. You're the one who's in love with my stepdaughter Kitana."  
  
"Kitana is your stepdaughter?!"  
  
"Yes she is my stepdaughter," Shao laughed. "And when I get my hands on her, I will make sure you watch her suffer before her death."  
  
Guy gritted his teeth in anger. "You stay away from her!!"  
  
"Why don't you make me?"  
  
"I will!" Then, Guy runs after him. He jumps up and gets ready to kick Shao's face....  
  
(End of Dream)  
  
Guy shot up from his sleeping bag. He breathed hard and he could feel the sweat pouring down his face.  
  
"(That felt so real!)" Guy thought. "(Is it true that Kitana's stepfather is Shao Kahn?)  
  
Just then, he looks up and sees someone in a long black cloak walking out of the cave. Guy slowly got up and began to follow the figure. Suddenly, he tripped over something large.  
  
Guy was slumped over when he heard a loud groan. "What the...." he heard. Guy looked over and saw Honda beginning to wake up.  
  
Guy straightened himself out and said the first thing he can think of. "You're beginning to digest your dinner, go back to sleep."  
  
"Um, yeah, that's a good thing," Honda mumbled. Then, Guy heard the light snore. Guy got up and walked out of the cave.  
  
Guy looked at the beach area and saw the figure standing at the shore. He slowly walked up to the figure in his fighting stance. He wasn't sure if this person was an intruder.  
  
Then, he heard the soft, sweet voice. "Hello Guy."  
  
Guy lowered his stance and walked up to be next to the person. "Kitana."  
  
Kitana took the hood part of the cloak off her head. The moon lit up her face.  
  
"Kitana," Guy said. "I have a weird question to ask you."  
  
Kitana turned to him. "Yes?"  
  
Guy looked into her dark eyes. "Do you have a stepfather?"  
  
For a few seconds there was silence. Then, she took a deep breath. "Yes, he is my stepfather. The damn bastard took over my world, killed my father, and made my mother commit suicide. He'll pay for what he did!"  
  
She looked out to the ocean.  
  
(10,000 years ago)  
  
"JERROD!!!" a woman cries out. She watches, with her baby daughter held in her arms, as her husband lies on the ground surrounded by his own blood. She looked up at the man who killed him. He held a long, bloody sword.  
  
"Shao, you'll pay for what you did!" the woman cried.  
  
Shao walks up to the Queen of Edenia. "My Sindel, you know that I'll be taking over Edenia now and rename it The Outworld. You will be my bride and help me rule Outworld." He held the knife to her throat. "Is that understood?"  
  
Shao was an immortal. Queen Sindel could do nothing.  
  
A few years later, Queen Sindel commits suicide due to insanity. Kitana as a toddler watches as her mother sticks the knife into her heart.  
  
(Present)  
  
Kitana shook her head.  
  
Guy touched her cheek gently. "You okay?" he asked.  
  
Kitana nodded and took his hand into hers. "I'll be fine." She sits down on the ground. Guy follows. They stared into the ocean that crashed into the shore.  
  
*************  
  
*Sorry that was short (and in ways boring).  
  
*Unfortunately if no one is aware yet, I took "Vega's Decision" off of FF.net since I have no more ideas for it. 


	10. Ch 9: The Fourth Tournament

Chapter Nine  
  
  
  
As the sun begins to rise, Sonya makes her way to the indoor ring. She has heard from a fighter who fought in yesterday's tournament that Shang Tsuang always meditated there in the morning.  
  
Sonya sees Shang in the middle of the ring surrounded by candles. He wore a long black and red dress-like warrior uniform with wide sleeves. He sat with his legs crossed and both hands up. Sonya could hear his rhythmic breathing.  
  
After a few moments, Shang says, "Who enters here?"  
  
Sonya was a bit startled but managed to say, "Sonya Blade."  
  
Shang opens his eyes and looks up at the blond woman. "Sonya Blade. You're in tomorrow's tournament, yes?"  
  
Sonya nodded.  
  
"You'll be fighting Sagat, yes?"  
  
"That's why I wanted to talk to you about," Sonya said. Shang only stared at her with his black eyes.  
  
Sonya took a deep breath. "My companion Rose will be fighting Vega tomorrow. I...I wasn't sure I there was a rule that we could, well, switch."  
  
Shang stood up and stared down at Sonya. "You mean, you want to fight Vega, and then Rose will fight Sagat?"  
  
Sonya nodded.  
  
Shang began to walk around the candles. "This tournament does not have many rules," he said. "Except for the rules....rules of life."  
  
"What do you mean?" Sonya asked.  
  
Shang turns to Sonya. "Sometimes in life, we get something that we don't want for reasons. We sometimes want to trade items with someone so we could have something better, but it is very much impossible."  
  
"So you're saying that I can't fight Vega and I only have to accept my fight with Sagat?" Sonya asked.  
  
"Of course," Shang said. He walked closer to her. They nearly ended up touching noses when he said. "I KNOW you want to fight Vega to avenge Johnny, for what he has done to him. Unfortunately, we don't get everything that we want. Sagat wants to fight Ryu for revenge as well, but that's not the way things go. Do you understand that, Sonya?"  
  
Sonya couldn't argue with him. Anyone who opposed him would receive great punishment. She only nodded and walked away with tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"(Johnny,)" she thought. "(I will kill Vega, even if I died doing it!)"  
  
As she turned a corner, she saw Rose standing. Her velvet eyes stared at her.  
  
"Sonya, dear," Rose said. "I do not mean to invade, but revenge is not the answer."  
  
Sonya looked up at Rose with a little anger. "Has anyone you loved ever died in front of your eyes, ever?"  
  
Rose only bowed her head down.  
  
"I thought so," Sonya said. She stomped off into the darkness.  
  
Rose sighed. "No matter what, revenge will only lead to the worse."  
  
***  
  
It's been now twelve hours since Dan ate the poison berries. Hereto was still making the medicine. Mika knew that she shouldn't interrupt the wizard since that would take up more time.  
  
Dan's face began to pour with sweat. Mika tried to fan him with a piece of paper and give him as much fluid as possible, but nothing seems to work.  
  
Dan then opened his eyes and he looked up at her. He put his hand on her face. "Mika."  
  
"Yes Dan?" she asked.  
  
Dan took a few deep breaths before continuing. "I want you to be strong. Don't worry about me."  
  
"Dan," Mika replied. "You're sick, I should be worried about you, and I am."  
  
Dan took another deep breath. "Mika, I...I'm going to die. Go find Nightwolf. Don't worry about me."  
  
Tears began to form in her eyes. "No Dan! I'd rather be the weakest thing on earth than to leave you! And you're NOT going to die!! I love you damn it!"  
  
Dan managed to smile. "You mean it?" He knew Mika meant it the first time she said she loved him, but not like this.  
  
Mika nodded. "Yes, I love you." She leaned down to him and the two shared a passionate kiss for a while. Mika pulled back. "You're going to live and you're going to meet Nightwolf and get stronger, I promise."  
  
***  
  
Guile stood in his fighting position and stared at a half-human, half-brown lizard with yellow eyes known as Muscana (a/n: another made-up character). She stood in her fighting stance, her tail slashing back and forth.  
  
"Whoa," said Honda. "That's one interesting mutant."  
  
Everyone around him only nodded.  
  
"Begin!!" Shang cries out.  
  
Muscana jumps in the air with lightning speed with a loud hiss. Guile looks up still in his fighting position. Just as he did, Muscana lands right on his head with her big feet. Guile falls back and lands on his rear.  
  
"Holy smokes!!" cried Fei-Long. "Guile better be quick."  
  
"Muscana has been in many tournaments and has never lost," Rayden said.  
  
Everyone stared at Rayden in nervousness and panic.  
  
Rayden bowed his head.  
  
With lightning speed, Muscana throws series of punches at Guile. She speed doesn't give Guile much time to react.  
  
"(Man, she's fast,)" Guile thought. "(I hope I can survive this. Probably not.)"  
  
Then, the thought of two beautiful women came to him. He wondered what kind of pain they would go through if he were killed.  
  
"(No!)" Guile thought. "(I will win for my wife and my daughter!! I won't die on them!)"  
  
Another person came to him...  
  
"(I won't die on Charlie either!!!)"  
  
"SONIC BOOM!!!!!!!!!!" Guile shouts. He released the energy and hits Muscana. She flies across the ring and lands hard on her back. Then she quickly got up and runs towards him.  
  
"(Damn it!)" He thought and prepared for his death.  
  
Then, she stops and her yellow eyes turn wide. "What the..." Guile said.  
  
Suddenly, loud rumble could be heard all around the room. Guile looked around the room and then back at Muscana. His blue eyes widened as he saw her. He could see her veins visibly blowing up into bubbles.  
  
"She's gonna blow!!!" someone cried out. Everyone grabbed their towels and Guile jumped behind the ring.  
  
Then, Muscana exploded into pieces.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Guile asked.  
  
"Apparently an allergic reaction," said Rose. Everyone turned to her. "Your sonic boom may have something to do with it. She may have been allergic to something in it that killed her."  
  
Shang stood up. "Guile wins!!"  
  
Chun-Li turned to Ryu. He was next.  
  
Ryu turned to her. "I'll be all right."  
  
"Next! Ryu versus Mileena!"  
  
"(What?!)" Ryu thought. He remembered how Mileena was the one who almost killed Sakura.  
  
Mileena stepped into the arena in her usual attire and held up her sais. "So, Ryu, we meet again. I didn't think we'd go against each other, but it seems that we are. I'd grab a weapon if I were you."  
  
Ryu got into his fighting stance. "I don't need any weapons. All I need is my strength."  
  
"You're a brave one."  
  
"Begin!" Shang cries.  
  
Mileena jumps in the air and aims her sais at Ryu. Ryu rolls out of the way and then stands up. Mileena darts her sais rapidly. Each time, Ryu dodges them.  
  
Chun-Li watches with nervousness. "(You're doing good Ryu.)"  
  
As Mileena darts, Ryu finds an opening and aims his fist at her stomach. She cries out in pain a little and pulls back. Ryu kicks one of the sais out of her hand and it flew to the crowd. Ken manages to catch it.  
  
Now with only one sai, Mileena tries to dart at him again and punch him, but Ryu dodges every one of them. Then, to his surprise, Mileena kicks him hard on his side and he falls back. Just before Mileena bends down to stab him, Ryu gets up, clenched his fist, and jumps high in the air, hitting under Mileena's chin.  
  
"SHO-RYU-...OW!!!" he cries out.  
  
"Shoryu-ow?" said Ken. "That's a new one."  
  
During his dragon punch, Mileena's sai ends up slashing his forearm deeply by accident. As he rises up and as Mileena goes with him, he kicks her other sai out of her hand. This time, it went near the side of the ring. Ryu lands on his feet while Mileena lands on her side. Ryu holds on to his bleeding arm as she got up.  
  
"Ryu!!" cried Chun-Li noticing the deep cut.  
  
"Finish her!" Shang cries out.  
  
Ryu nods. He runs to her and jumps up again. He puts one leg out and spins around rapidly. "Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku!!" he shouts hitting Mileena's face rapidly. Mileena falls into the crowd.  
  
"Ryu wins!" Shang cries.  
  
Ryu holds his bleeding arm and smirks....until he saw Mileena leap into the air and run off.  
  
"(Crap!)" He thought. "(What does it take to kill her?)"  
  
"Ryu you won!" cried a female voice. Ryu turned around and saw Chun-Li with a big smile on her face in the crowd.  
  
Ryu smirked at her and nodded.  
  
***  
  
"Great fight both of you," said Sub-Zero. He, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, and Ken were walking out of the dining area that evening after a big dinner. Everyone else were already back in the cave.  
  
"I wish I had a better fight," said Guile.  
  
"Yeah, but you killed her with only one blow," replied Chun-Li.  
  
"She was allergic to my sonic boom. If it wasn't for that, I'd be dead."  
  
Ryu patted his bandaged arm. "I had a good fight, even though I didn't kill Mileena."  
  
"That's all right," said Ken. "Maybe next time."  
  
***  
  
Sonya, Jax, Guy, Kitana, Rose, Dhalsim, and Honda sat around the fire silently. Fei-Long, Rolento, Rayden, Liu, and Cody were practicing at the beach while the rest were at the dining area of the island.  
  
"Sonya," said Jax. "Are you all right?"  
  
Sonya turned to Jax and looked into his dark eyes. "Once I kill Vega, I will be."  
  
"Vega's dangerous," Jax said. "Rose is going against him tomorrow. I prefer for her to not go against him."  
  
"I'll be fine, Jax," said Rose listening to the conversation. She looked at Sonya. "Dear..if it really means a lot to you to avenge Johnny, then I will switch with you tomorrow, but I still say that revenge is not the way to go."  
  
Sonya hugs Rose. "Thank you."  
  
Across the fire, Guy and Kitana stare into the fire.  
  
"Reminds me of Hell sometimes," said Kitana.  
  
"Does it?" asked Guy.  
  
"Yes. Fire is of evil and it burns what it wants."  
  
"Fire can be a good thing too. Fire helps to keep you warm."  
  
Kitana looks into Guy's dark eyes. Then, she took his hand. "Not as much as your hands."  
  
Guy smirked and squeezed her hand a little.  
  
"Oh, looks like there's a bit of love connection here," said Honda.  
  
Guy turns to Honda. "Honda....be quiet and eat your rice."  
  
Honda shrugs and continues to eat.  
  
Guy turns back to Kitana. "People can be a bit nosy," Kitana said.  
  
Guy sighed as he enjoyed hearing her sweet voice. He enjoyed being with her last night, just holding hands and staring into the water in the moonlit night.  
  
The two stared into each other's eyes for a while. They knew that the others were distracted; Jax, Sonya, and Rose's conversation, Dhalsim meditating, and Honda munching away.  
  
Guy began to slowly lean his face towards hers. Kitana knew his intentions...and wanted it as well. She began to lean towards him as well.  
  
Just as their lips were inches away, they suddenly heard a loud, piercing battle cry that sounded like it was coming from a mutant.  
  
Everyone who sat around the fire turned around. On top of the cave stood a mutant-like person with long sharp teeth, a bald head, long ears, ripped clothes, and long claw on both hands.  
  
"Baraka!" cried Kitana. Everyone stood in their fighting stances.  
  
***  
  
As Sub-Zero, Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken, and Guile walked home, they could hear the piercing battle cry.  
  
"Not again!" cried Ken. Just before the five broke into a run, three people jumped right in front of them.  
  
Sub-Zero narrowed his eyes at the same man who attacked he, Chun-Li, Sonya, and Jax in the cave two nights ago.  
  
"Reptile, you again!" he cries.  
  
The two other with him were both women wearing the same attire in different colors.  
  
"Mileena and Jade, nice to see the both of you," said Ken. The five of them stood in their fighting positions.  
  
Mileena laughs holding up her sais and staring at Ryu. "For beating me, you will get the one thing that will hurt your heart."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ryu asked.  
  
Jade laughs and holds up her stick. "You know exactly what we're talking about. The only way you will ever be defeated is to hurt the one thing that you love." Their eyes stare at something.  
  
Ryu follows where their eyes laid..right at Chun-Li! 


	11. Ch 10: The Kidnap

Chapter Ten  
  
  
  
"It is finished," Hereto says walking into the room. "Hurry, we don't have time."  
  
Dan barely opened his eyes as Hereto walks into the room. Mika began to wake up as well. "How long do we have?" she asked yawning.  
  
Hereto checked Dan's pulse. He also listened to his breathing. "Not long," he said. Mika got up, went to Dan's side, and took his hand. Hereto inserted the shot into Dan's arm.  
  
"(Please let this work)" Mika thought.  
  
A few moments later, they hear a whispering wind, but not from outside. Then, a pink aura surrounded Dan.  
  
"It is working," Hereto said. "The aura is a good sign."  
  
Mika smiled and tears of joy welled up in her eyes. Dan began to open his eyes more as the aura began to decrease. Then, the aura disappeared.  
  
Dan slowly sat up. "Am I alive?" he asked.  
  
Mika quickly threw her arms around him. "Yes you are, thank goodness!!" she cried. Dan smiled and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Remind me to never eat berries again," he said.  
  
"Now," Hereto said. "Where is it that you are going?"  
  
The two let go of their embrace and looked at Hereto. "We're trying to find a man named Nightwolf," said Mika. "We've been searching for him for a week and we still didn't find him."  
  
Hereto laughed. "He's only one mile down from here. Just make a left out the door and follow the trail and make sure you don't get off it."  
  
Dan smiled. "Thanks Hereto! Thanks for everything!" He looked at Mika. "Let's go! We're almost there!"  
  
Mika smiled. "All right, but remember, I'm the one who's leading the way."  
  
"Maybe, Dan, you should rest for the night," Hereto suggested.  
  
"No time to waste!" Dan cried. "We gotta find him now!" He got up from his bed.  
  
Mika smiled. "Thank you for everything, Hereto. We'll stop by here on our way back."  
  
Hereto nodded as the two exited the hut.  
  
***  
  
"What the hell is that thing?!" cried Guy. He, Kitana, Sonya, Jax, Dhalsim, Rose, and Honda looked up at the mutant known as Baraka.  
  
Baraka screamed out a battle cry and then leaped towards the fighters.  
  
Dhalsim put his arms out quickly and stressed them out. He manages to punch Baraka in the stomach.  
  
"Soul spark!" cried Rose. She threw her yellow scarf towards Baraka. An electric ball comes out and hits Baraka on his side.  
  
"Good aim, Rose!" cried Jax.  
  
Guy ran in lightning speed towards Baraka and manages to punch him in the face. As he pulled back, Baraka slashes his claw and scratches him on his side.  
  
"Guy!" cried Kitana. Suddenly, she pulls out two big metal fans with sharp ends.  
  
"What a weapon!" cried Honda.  
  
Kitana and Baraka's weapons clanged together each time one aimed at the other. The fighters watched with amazement as the two battled it out.  
  
Meanwhile....  
  
"(No way in hell!)" thought Guile knowing Jade, Mileena, and Reptile's intentions.  
  
Ryu clenched his teeth. "You leave Chun-Li out of this!"  
  
Jade laughed. "What are you going to do about it?"  
  
"This!" cried Chun-Li. She jumps towards Mileena and throws a few punches at her. Ryu jumps in to help Chun-Li.  
  
"I got the lizard to myself," said Guile and started running towards Reptile.  
  
Ken and Sub-Zero looked at each other, nodded, and proceeded towards Jade.  
  
Guile smiled. "If I beat you once, I can beat you again." Reptile narrowed his dark eyes and ran towards Guile. Reptile played offense, throwing series of punches and kicks at Guile. Guile played defense of course, blocking every move Reptile threw at him.  
  
Chun-Li and Ryu played offense towards Mileena. At one point, Mileena blocks one of Ryu's punches and he held his punch there. "What does it take to kill you?" he asked her.  
  
Mileena laughed. "So much, Ryu." She got out of her block and tries to slash his throat with her sai, but only scratched his shoulder.  
  
"Ryu!" cried Chun-Li. She got back into the battle and throws a series of kicks at Mileena. She manages to kick Mileena's face and she falls back.  
  
"Man, she's good!" cried Ken as he and Sub-Zero played defense against Jade. She aims her battle stick at both of them and the men blocked her every time.  
  
Jade then jumps back and laughs. "You two think you're so tough." She guards herself with her stick. She jumps up and manages to hit both of them in the head with it. The two fell back.  
  
She stands over them and laughs. She aims her stick at Sub-Zero. "Time to die!" She jabs her stick at him.  
  
Sub-Zero immediately puts his hand out. A gust of wind was heard. Then, ice formed around Jade. Her stick was millimeters away from his heart.  
  
"Ken," he said. "Would you do the honor?" He rolled out of the way.  
  
Ken nodded and got up. "HADOUKEN!!!!" he cries. A ball of energy comes out of his hands and flies towards the frozen Jade. The energy hits hard causing her to explode.  
  
Everyone stopped fighting after hearing what sounds like ice breaking. They turn towards Ken and Sub-Zero and watched Jade's frozen body shatter into a million pieces. Ice and blood flew everywhere.  
  
"One down, two to go!" cried Sub-Zero.  
  
What the good fighters didn't realize was that Mileena has passed one of her sais to Reptile. He took the weapon. He quickly ran over to Chun-Li and grabbed her from behind.  
  
Mileena laughed. "You may have killed Jade, but I'm afraid the distraction of her death will cost you."  
  
Sub-Zero, Guile, Ryu, and Ken turned around and found Reptile holding Chun- Li. The sai was aimed at her throat.  
  
"Chun-Li!" the men cried at the same time.  
  
Mileena laughed again. "Originally, we were just going to kill Chun-Li, but after Shao Kahn learned a little more about Ryu, we thought better of it."  
  
Ryu clenched both his fist. "Let her go!!!"  
  
"I'm afraid it's not that easy," Mileena continued. "You'll have to go and find her yourself, but it shouldn't be long when we...." She didn't finish her sentence on purpose.  
  
"I'll be all right!" Chun-Li cried as Reptile and Mileena leaped off with her still in Reptile's arms.  
  
Ryu looked up into the sky in anger. "(Damn you, Shao! I'll get you for this)"  
  
"It sounds like we've been watched this whole time," said Guile.  
  
"We better get back to the camp and tell the others," said Sub-Zero. The four began running back to camp.  
  
***  
  
Kitana and Baraka's battle intense. They started walking towards the fire that was lit. Kitana's back was towards it.  
  
"Watch out!" Guy cried. Then, Kitana tripped over one of the rocks and began falling into the fire.  
  
"KITANA!!!!!!" Guy shouted. Just before he was about to start his lightning run, the fire suddenly turned into flat ice. Kitana fell into the ice, slipped off it and landed back safely into the sand.  
  
"(That could only be Sub-Zero)" Guy thought. The fighters turned around to see, indeed, Sub-Zero, along with Guile, Ken, and Ryu standing there.  
  
Baraka let out one last battle cry and leaped into the night.  
  
"You guys all right?" asked Guile. The four fighters ran towards the other. Then, Liu, Cody, Rolento, Rayden, and Fei-Long came to the camp.  
  
"We came as fast as we can," said Rolento. "Is everything all right?"  
  
The fighters who fought Baraka nodded.  
  
Jax noticed something. "Where's Chun-Li?" he asked.  
  
Sub-Zero bowed his head. "The good news is, Jade's been killed. The bad news......Reptile and Mileena have her."  
  
Suddenly, Ryu took a big rock that surrounded the now-iced fire. He growled and clutched the rock tightly in his hand. Then, he broke into a million pieces. Sand-like particles fall from his hand.  
  
"They will pay!!" he shouted out with rage. His voice echoed into the night.  
  
*****************************************  
  
Sorry that was crappy writing. I've been writing the summary for the next few chapters of "Outworld" so maybe in a couple of days, the next chapter will be out. 


	12. Ch 11: Nightwolf

Chapter Eleven  
  
  
  
  
  
As the night goes on, Dan and Mika slowly walk south down the trail. They look around, trying to see if they find anything, a campsite, or even a person.  
  
"How close do you think he could be?" asked Mika.  
  
"Hopefully, not too far," replied Dan.  
  
They continued walking. As they did, they could hear the animals stepping on the leaves, wolves howling, and other animals eating what sometimes sounds like their prey.  
  
"What if we're lost again?" Dan asked. "What if Hereto pointed us to the wrong place?"  
  
"Calm down, Dan," Mika replied. "We'll be fine. Hopefully, we get to see Nightwolf tonight."  
  
Dan sighed and kept walking.  
  
Suddenly, they could hear growling coming from what sounded like a wolf. Dan and Mika stopped in their tracks.  
  
"What was that?" Mika asked. The two slowly turned around. Just a few feet behind them was a big wolf. The wolf stared at them with its eyes glowing in the dark.  
  
"Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?" Dan asked, shaking. Then, he went into a shout. "Dan's afraid of the big bad wolf!!!"  
  
The wolf barked at them. The first bark sent Dan and Mika sprinting and running for their lives. The wolf chased after them.  
  
Dan and Mika kept running and running until they hit what looked like a campsite. "Help!!" cried Dan. "There's a wolf chasing us!!"  
  
The two of them turned to the wolf, which is now a foot away from them. The wolf growled as Dan and Mika hugged each other, begging for their lives. Suddenly, when Dan looked at the beast, the wolf started to take a human form.  
  
Dan released his embrace with Mika. "Mika, look! It looks like something from Animorphs!"  
  
They stared at the wolf-now-turning-human creature. When it finished its form, it was a male human with shoulder-length black hair and a blue headband with two feathers in the back. He wore a black vest over his bare chest blue bands on his upper arm, silver wristbands, blue pants, brown boots, and his face was painted red from his eyebrows to the middle of his cheeks.  
  
He looks at Dan and Mika. "Why do you come here?!" he shouted with anger.  
  
Dan and Mika began to tremble. Mika managed to speak. "We're looking for the one named Nightwolf. We were sent here by Kitana because she believes that he'll make us stronger at the tournament on the other side of the island."  
  
The man's anger in his face slowly disappeared. "You mean the tournament in which Prince Goro always wins?"  
  
"Yes," replied Dan.  
  
The man sighed and walked over to the camp. "You've come to the right place. I am Nightwolf."  
  
Dan ran over to him and put his hand out. "It's finally nice to meet you, Mr. Nightwolf, sir."  
  
Nightwolf slowly took his hand and the men shook. Then, Nightwolf walked over to a brown pouch and picked it up. "It seems that you want to become stronger mentally and physically, correct?"  
  
Dan and Mika nodded and walked over to him.  
  
Nightwolf opened his pouch and reached into it. "Becoming strong physically requires many practices. It is your duty to do that. As for becoming strong mentally, I believe I can help you with that." He took his hand out of the pouch holding a handful of what looks like sand. He threw the sand onto a pile of twigs surrounded by big rocks. The twigs suddenly lit on fire.  
  
"Whoa!" cried Dan. "How did you do that?"  
  
Nightwolf ignored him and sat in front of the fire. "Gather around," he said. Dan and Mika sat on either side of him in front of the fire. "Close your eyes." Dan and Mika followed his command. "Clear your minds and breathe rhythmically."  
  
Dan and Mika followed. While their eyes were closed, a blue colored wind surrounded them. Nightwolf spoke, "Face your weaknesses." He opened his eyes and watched Dan and Mika fall to their sides and go into a deep slumber. "Good luck," he said. He got up and went inside his tent.  
  
***  
  
Mika opened her eyes and looked around. She found herself in what looked like....the Underworld.  
  
"(Wait a minute)" she thought. "(What am I doing here? Did I just die a really fast death?)"  
  
She stood on her feet and got into a fighting stance, just incase any intruders were lurking around. She walked around and searched the hellish place. She could hear the flames burning with rage, and the people screaming in fear.  
  
Then, someone stepped in front of her. Mika was startled and looked up. He saw a slightly tall African American man standing in a boxer's stance.  
  
"Balrog?" she questioned as she recognized the Shadowlaw commander....or at least he once was.  
  
Suddenly, Balrog throws a punch so fast that Mika didn't see it coming. She was hit square in the jaw. She backs off a little and regains her composure. Balrog goes at her again and throws a series of punches. Mika blocks every one of them. Then, she darts at him and tries to grab him, but Balrog pulls back.  
  
"(Damn)" she thought. She attempts to do it again, but Balrog manages to pull his arm back and throw another hard punch at her. He hits her face and Mika falls to the ground. Balrog jumps up to step on her, but Mika rolls out of the way. She attempts to kick him square in the stomach, but Balrog moved back. Mika rolled back and stood up. The two stared at each other for a while.  
  
'Face your weakness,' Mika remembered Nightwolf saying before she fell to her side back at the campsite.  
  
"(My weakness)" she thought. "(Do I really have a weakness?)"  
  
Balrog darts at her again and tries to punch her. Mika blocks again. "(Wait a minute)" she thought. "(Doesn't Nightwolf mean find our enemies weaknesses? If so, and if Balrog is a boxer, then I know his weakness!)"  
  
She ducked his next punch and trips Balrog. He lands on his back with a big thud. He laid there for a minute before he got up again.  
  
"(Well, at least it worked for a minute)" Mika thought. Balrog darts at her again. She tried to grab him again, but Balrog darts back.  
  
"(Hmm,)" she thought once again. "(Maybe Nightwolf really meant MY weakness. But what is it?)"  
  
As Balrog attempts another punch, Mika throws a series of punches at him. "(It's not my punches)" She kicks him a few times without a problem. "(It's not my kicks)" She attempts to grab him again, but Balrog darts back.  
  
"(That's it! It's the way I try attempt to grab my opponents. Dan is the only one who never saw this. My opponents know that I try to grab them so I could attempt my wrestling moves. I got an idea!)"  
  
She jumps over Balrog and lands behind him. She grabs him and holds him tightly. "(That's what it is. My opponents know from the front when I grab them, but not from behind)"  
  
She jumps in the air and five times in a row lands with Balrog's back on the ground. She lets go of Balrog and he bounces off about a few feet ahead. He's still awake, but doesn't get up. Then, a white light blinds her eyes.....  
  
***  
  
Dan opens his eyes and gets up. He looks around and hears the fire burning and the people screaming in agony. "Am I where I think I am?" he asked himself. Then he goes into a shout. "AHHH!!! I'm in Hell!!!!"  
  
Then, a young woman appears in front of him. Dan smiles nervously. "Um, hi, eh, I was wondering how the heck you get out of here."  
  
Then, he noticed something about her. She held a six-foot stick and her skin was shattered with ice and blood. "What happened to you?" he asked.  
  
The woman charged at Dan. "Jade will get her revenge!" she cried out. She started to jab the stick at Dan. Dan started to block her, but then slipped.  
  
"(What the...)" he thought. Jade began to kick his stomach. Dan didn't have time to react and Jade kicked him rapidly. Then, she did a hard kick that send Dan flying across the area. When he landed, he was about fifty yards away from her.  
  
'Face your weakness,' Dan suddenly remembered Nightwolf saying before this event. "(What is my weakness?)" he thought.  
  
Jade jumps at him again. Dan rolls out of the way and stands up. He stands in his fighting stance. Jade only stares at him with her evil dark eyes.  
  
"(What does Nightwolf mean by, 'face your weakness?')" Dan thought again.  
  
Then, Jade charges at him again with a loud battle cry. She jabs his stick at him again and Dan manages to block a few before it passes his guard and hits his chest. The wind was knocked out of him and he pulled back.  
  
"Hadouken!!" he called out and throws a ball of energy at Jade. Unfortunately, it only flew a few meters before bursting like a bubble.  
  
"Damn it!" Dan said out loud. "I need to get better at that."  
  
Jade charges at him again with a flying high kick. Dan dodges, but slips again.  
  
"(I'm really clumsy!)" he thought. Then, he realized it. "(That's it!! My clumsiness is my weakness. I think about my clumsiness in every battle, hoping that it doesn't happen, but it does anyway. Maybe if I clear my head and concentrate on the fight, I can beat Jade.)"  
  
Jade flies in the air and tries to kick Dan again, but Dan was ready this time. With his head clear from any distractions for the first time ever, he clenches his fist and jumps in the air.  
  
"SHO-RYU-KEN!!!!!!!!" Dan cries out as he manages to hit Jade right under her chin. Usually when Dan does this move, he would only jump a foot. Now he was jumping ten feet!  
  
Jade falls hard on the ground and doesn't get up. Dan lands nicely on both of his feet and looks at his opponent for a brief moment. Then he smiles and jumps up and down.  
  
"I did it! I did it! I overcame my weakness! What the....." Now all Dan could see is the white light.......  
  
***  
  
Dan and Mika shot up from the ground where they were laying. They breathed hard and they looked at each other.  
  
"I did it Dan," Mika said.  
  
"Me too," replied Dan.  
  
Nightwolf comes out from his tent. "You are both strong, but stronger than ever. Mental strength is more powerful than physical strength."  
  
Mika looks at Nightwolf with confusion. "But my weakness was physical."  
  
"Your weakness was strategy," Nightwolf replied. "You make predictable moves and your opponent knows it. You have figured out how to make better strategies. Dan.....your weakness is not concentrating on the fight. When you fight, you think about your clumsiness. You overcame that by clearing your mind and you even did your moves better than ever."  
  
Mika stood up. "Thank you for your help, Nightwolf."  
  
Nightwolf looks up at the sky. "According to the moon, it is three in the morning. I prefer that the two of you stay here for the night."  
  
"Good idea," said Dan yawning. He immediately fell asleep and started snoring.  
  
Nightwolf went into his tent and took out two heavy blankets. "Rest now for that the two of you have another journey, to go back to the tournament." He gives Mika the blankets and then walks into the tent.  
  
Mika yawns. She places one blanket over Dan, then places the other blanket over her own body. Before she fell asleep, she thought of something....  
  
"(Is anyone in the cave still alive?)" 


	13. Ch 12: The Fifth Tournament

Chapter Twelve  
  
  
  
  
  
The morning sun rises through the horizon. As it does, all of the fighters in the cave snapped their eyes opened, some with determination, some with sorrow in their hearts.  
  
Jax stands up while the other fighters are laying down in their sleeping bags. "Everybody get up," he said. "We have some important things to talk about before the next tournament."  
  
Everyone slowly got up and made their way outside. Dhalsim lit the fire to get everybody warmed up.  
  
Jax was the only one standing up while everyone else sat down. "Our friend Chun-Li has been kidnapped. Obviously, Shao Kahn knows about some of us investigating or else why would he attack us last night and the other night? I'm going to need a few brave men to go to Kahn's lair to save her. It's the only other place he could have taken her."  
  
Ryu stood up. "I'll go."  
  
Liu followed. "Me too."  
  
Guile stood up as well. "So am I."  
  
Rayden also stood up. "I will help guide you men."  
  
Ken followed. "I want to go to."  
  
"Ken," said Jax. "You have a tournament today. I know you want to save your friend, but you can't back out of the tournament. How about this; you win the tournament, you can catch up with the others."  
  
"Where is Shao's lair?" Ken asked.  
  
"Over the mountains," replied Rayden. "The walk will take all day."  
  
Ken nodded.  
  
"Also," said Jax. "It's been over a week since Dan and Mika left the camp. I wonder if they're even still alive. I need two people to find them."  
  
"I'll go," said Fei-Long.  
  
"Me too," said Sub-Zero.  
  
"All right," Jax continued. "Don't get yourselves lost, just follow the trail. Nightwolf only lives five miles away. Be back by sun down whether you find them or not. Go."  
  
Fei-Long and Sub-Zero got up and began walking towards the trail.  
  
"To today's fighters, Ken, Rose, and Sonya......good luck."  
  
***  
  
Mika opens her eyes. The sun blares right into them and she covers them with her forearm.  
  
"Morning sunshine," cried a voice. "Rise and shine and eat breakfast with us."  
  
Mika moved her arm and looked over. Dan sat by the fire with Nightwolf with a smile. There were cooking something over the fire.  
  
Mika sits up and yawns. "What's for breakfast?"  
  
Dan grinned. "Fried rats."  
  
Her eyes widened. "Fried what?"  
  
"Rats," replied Nightwolf. "Good for your diet."  
  
Mika felt her stomach turn. "I'll think I'll eat left over peaches." She looked in her bag. The peaches left over were all rotted. She felt her stomach growl. She was desperate for food.  
  
"(Well it's either live or starve to death)" she thought. She slowly walked over to the boys.  
  
Dan took a big bit out of one rat. "Yum! Taste like chicken. Its pretty good Mika."  
  
Mika sat down on the ground. Nightwolf put a rat in a coconut bowl and gave it to Mika. "Here you go," he said.  
  
Mika wanted to gag, but she figured that Nightwolf took his time to actually cook the disgusting meal, but she decided to take it anyways. She slowly took the rat, took a small bit and slowly chewed on it.  
  
"(I want to barf)" she thought. She pretended that she liked it so she wouldn't hurt Nightwolf's feelings, especially after all he's done for her and Dan.  
  
"So," Nightwolf said. "You're both fighting at that tournament on the other side of the island?"  
  
"Yup," Dan replied. "We want to beat Goro too."  
  
Nightwolf stood up. "Goro is not easy to beat."  
  
"We know," Mika said.  
  
Nightwolf walked over to the woods to toss the bones of his meal away. Then he came back and sat down with the two fighters.  
  
"Goro is part of a Shokan race in the Outworld. Shokans are a race of half human and half dragons. Many years ago, Goro defeated the one called Kung Lao in an intense Mortal Kombat tournament. Kung Lao's soul was taken by an unknown being and Goro took control of the tournament. He won every tournament for the last nine generations until only a year ago. He was beaten by a monk named Liu Kang."  
  
Dan's head snapped up. "Hey I know him!! He was with us back in the cave where we were staying."  
  
"If Liu won," said Mika. "Then why is Goro still fighting in the tournament?"  
  
"Simple," Nightwolf replied. "He wants to earn his title back."  
  
"But isn't this tournament the fight to the death?" Dan asked.  
  
"Yes, but somehow, Goro managed to live through it, even after Liu battered him, but just because Goro is two thousand years old doesn't mean that he can't die. Goro's race are mortals."  
  
Dan and Mika looked at each other. Beating Goro was going to be harder than they thought.  
  
***  
  
Shang stands up from his throne outside. "First up, Ken versus Cyrax."  
  
Ken jumped into the ring. "I'm ready for battle!" he shouted. Then, a yellow robot appears in front of him.  
  
"A robot?" Ken said with disappointment. "I'm fighting a robot?"  
  
"He's a Lin Kuei robot," Ken heard Sub-Zero say. Ken turns to him. "Be careful, they're fast robots."  
  
"Begin!" Shang cries.  
  
Ken turns back to Cyrax who jumps in the air. Ken dodges out of the way. As Cyrax lands, Ken manages to back kick him, but Cyrax was able to grab his leg and twist it sending Ken spinning in the air and then landing hard on the ground. Ken tried to get up, but out of nowhere, a net covered Ken.  
  
"What the hell?" Ken cried. "No fair!"  
  
Cyrax runs over to him and starts kicking him in the stomach. Ken tried to block him and get out at the same time, but neither was possible.  
  
"(Damn it!)" Ken thought. The net was only loose enough for Ken to stretch his wrists. Then, Cyrax ends up kicking Ken in his, um, personal spot.  
  
"YEOW!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ken cried out. He managed to roll a few feet away from Cyrax. Cyrax goes after him as Ken tries to break free from the net. Ken took the time to collect energy into his fist. He rolls past Cyrax so he could get out of the way of whatever the Lin Kuei robot is about to do to him. When Ken was ready, he punches through the net.  
  
"SHO-RYU-KEN!!!!!!" Ken cried out. He managed to break free from the net and jump into the air. Cyrax stops in his tracks and looks up at his opponent.  
  
Ken lands on his feet and stands in his fighting stance. Cyrax only stares at Ken. The two stare at each other for a few moments. Then, Cyrax runs after him and throws a series of punches at him. Ken blocks every one of them despite Cyrax's lightning speed. The audience watches them, their heads going side to side.  
  
Then, Ken found and opening and punches Cyrax's face. Dips of black blood flies out of the robot.  
  
Ken narrows his brown eyes. "I'm determined to win this tournament.....for Chun-Li!" He jumps in the air to get closer to Cyrax. He throws punches and kicks at Cyrax, but the robot blocks all of them. Ken could hear his friends cheering on for him. Ken found another opening and punches Cyrax in the abdomen. Cyrax pulls back, but Ken manages to throw more punches at him. Cyrax is now unable to block most of Ken's punches. Then, Cyrax's arm is snapped into two and the robot falls back.  
  
"Finish him!" Ken heard Shang cry out.  
  
Ken collected energy. "I'll do exactly what I did to Jade last night." He let's the ball of energy go. "HADOU-KEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he shouts out. The energy hits Cyrax causing him to explode. Gadgets and black blood flew everywhere.  
  
"Ken wins!" Shang cries out.  
  
Ken walks back to his friends. "His soul won't be taken," said Sub-Zero. "Lin Kuei robots don't have souls."  
  
Ken smirked. "Well, it was fun, but I made a promise to save Chun-Li."  
  
"Good luck my friend," said Jax patting his shoulder.  
  
Ken turned to Sonya and Rose. "Good luck in your tournaments. I hope to see you both alive when I get back."  
  
The women smirked and nodded. Ken gets out of the way and sprints towards the mountains.  
  
"Next!" Shang cries out. "Sonya versus Vega."  
  
Sonya, the determination show in her face, steps into the outdoor right. Vega jumps in and smirks under his mask. "So, I get to fight a female this time. Lovely you are. Too bad you will die under my claws." He shows off his claws in front of his face.  
  
Sonya gets into her fighting stance. "You will pay for what you did to Johnny."  
  
"Begin!" Shang cries out. Sonya and Vega stared at each other in their fighting stances for a brief moment. Then, as fast as lightning, Vega does a couple of backward flips and then jumped in the air.  
  
Sonya runs towards him, but Vega goes right behind her. She dodges out of the way and faces him again. Vega laughs under his mask and runs towards her, his claws raised and ready to strike. Sonya ducks and then stands right back up, her fist raised. She strikes Vega under his chin and he flies back. Vega lands hard on his back.  
  
Sonya runs to him as Vega rolls into a ball and rolls fast at Sonya. He hits her a few times and then unrolls himself and strikes his claws. He only scratched Sonya's stomach.  
  
"Sonya!" cried Jax.  
  
Sonya ignored the pain and runs at him. Vega jumps in the air and lands behind her. As Sonya turned around, Vega slashes her arm. The blood flowed out.  
  
"I'm not going to let a little weapon like yours kill me!" Sonya cried out. She tries to kick him, but Vega jumps backwards. Then, he jumps back at her again. Sonya jumps straight up and kicks Vega, this time knocking the wind out of him. Vega lands on his side. Sonya lands right on top of him and grabs his arm, which contained the claw. She twists Vega's arm snapping it in three places. Vega cried in pain. Sonya ripped the claw right off his hand and tossed it towards her friends. Honda catches it.  
  
"Now let's see how you fight with your little weapon!" Sonya cried. He lifts him up by his broken arm and spins him around and then let go. Vega flies across the ring and lands hard on his broken arm. Vega held on to his arm in pain.  
  
"Finish him!" Shang cried out.  
  
Sonya runs up to him. "This is for Johnny Cage!" she cries out. She bends down and lifts herself up again, striking him hard enough in the chest just over his heart. She knew a blast like that would kill him. Vega falls back.  
  
"Sonya wins!" Shang cries out.  
  
Sonya looks down at the fallen Vega ready to hear his soul being taken. But then, Vega suddenly stood up.  
  
"You really think a blast like that will kill me? Well, you're wrong." He jumps away and disappears.  
  
"NO! GET BACK HERE!!!!!!!!" Sonya cried out. Tears formed in her eyes. She runs after Vega, but Jax stopped her. "Let me go!"  
  
"Let him go, Sonya," Jax said. "I promise you that the next time you'll get him for good."  
  
Sonya hugged Jax and sobbed in his arms. Originally, she had come to this tournament to destroy Shao Kahn and his Outworld army. Now, her heart was full of rage, wanting to avenge Johnny's death.  
  
"Next," Shang says. "Rose versus Sagat!"  
  
Sonya lets go of Jax and turns back to the ring. "(Win this fight, Rose)" Sonya thought. She became pretty close with Rose since they first met over a week ago.  
  
Rose stands in her fighting stance and stares at the former Muay Thai champion. Sagat lifts up his fists and lifts up his heels from the ground.  
  
"Begin!" Shang cries out.  
  
Sagat puts out both of his hands. A boomerang shaped fire comes out of his hands. Rose ducks. Sagat bends down and does it again. Rose jumps over it. She runs after him and attempts to kick him, but Sagat blocks her. He attempts to kick her, but Rose jumps back. As she did, Sagat puts out his knee, jumps in the air and hits her in the shoulder. Rose gets up and jumps above him. She grabs him by the shoulders and turns upside down. She released some energy covering Sagat's head. After a few moments, Rose released him. Sagat, feeling dizzy, falls to the ground. Rose lands on her feet and goes back to her fighting stance.  
  
Sagat gets up and runs after her again. He tries to elbow and knee her a few times, but Rose managed to block all of them. Then, Sagat bends his knees, makes a fist, and jumps up.  
  
"Tiger Uppercut!!" he cried out. He hits Rose in the stomach and lifts her up. Then, Rose falls and hits her head against Sagat's head. Both fall to the ground unconscious.  
  
"That was fast," said Guy.  
  
"Well, at least it's a double knock out," replied Cody.  
  
Or so they thought...........  
  
Everyone became shocked as they heard a soft scream.  
  
"Holy smokes!" cried Honda. "Sounds like it wasn't a double knock out after all."  
  
The good fighters crossed their fingers hoping that Rose's soul wasn't taken. Then, they heard a groan. The audience was silent.  
  
Sagat moved his arm.  
  
"NO WAY!!!" cried Jax. He looked up at Shang. "It's a double knock out!"  
  
"Not as you think," Shang said. "Sagat was only knocked out for a few moments. Rose hit her head hard enough to kill herself."  
  
"(I don't believe that)" Jax thought as he hugged the sobbing Sonya. He looked at Rose. He could've sworn that just before her soul was taken that she was breathing.  
  
***  
  
"Nothing yet," said Fei-Long to Sub-Zero. It's been three hours since they were send off to find Dan and Mika.  
  
"I believe we only have two miles to go," Sub-Zero said. "I hope we find them soon, so I can get back and kick Shang's ass for what he did to my brother." The two kept on walking.  
  
Fei-Long looked at the former Lin Kuei ninja. "So, why did you come with me to find Dan and Mika?"  
  
Sub-Zero smirked. "Well, I've heard a bunch of funny stories about Dan and I thought I'd meet him, plus I figured that this will only take the whole day."  
  
"All right," Fei-Long said. Then, they heard a few footsteps behind them. The two turned around.  
  
"Dan? Mika?" cried Fei-Long. "If you two are out there, stop fooling around and get over here. You two are missing the tournament."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Maybe the footsteps came from animals," Sub-Zero said.  
  
Suddenly, the ground under their feet caved in. Fei-Long and Sub-Zero fall into the deep hole. They fell for probably a minute before landing on something soft.  
  
"I'm surprised we didn't break a bone," Fei-Long said. The two got up and looked around. "Do you think this is where Dan and Mika fell to?"  
  
"Maybe," Sub-Zero replied. Then, the two felt a presence from behind them.  
  
"Someone's behind us," said Fei-Long. They turned around and became face to face with a man in a yellow Lin Kuei uniform. His white eyes stared coldly at them.  
  
"Who is that?" Fei-Long asked Sub-Zero.  
  
Sub-Zero narrowed his eyes. "A descendent of mine killed this man a long time ago. He goes by the name.........Scorpion."  
  
************************************************  
  
Whew! That was the longest chapter I've ever written. Please review this, it keeps me going, but no flames! 


	14. Ch 13: The Search For ChunLi

Chapter Thirteen  
  
  
  
  
  
Ken runs through the woods. Just an hour ago, he won the tournament against the Lin Kuei robot Cyrax and is now trying to catch up with the others who are on their quest to save Chun-Li. He runs past the trees, plants, and a few hills.  
  
Soon as the sun begins to set, Ken spots Ryu, Liu, Rayden, and Guile. Ryu turns around to see his best friend finally catching up to them. "You made it, my friend," Ryu said.  
  
Ken bends over to touch his knees with his hands and tries to catch his breath. "I kept my promise." He smirks.  
  
"We must keep going on our journey," said Rayden. "Chun-Li needs us and the sun is setting."  
  
The five men began walking again. Guile looks around as he says, "Now, where exactly is Shao Kahn's lair?"  
  
Rayden points to two mountains just ahead of them. "Just behind those mountains. There is a trail that will lead us between the mountains."  
  
Ken turns to Rayden. "You know so much about Shao Kahn."  
  
"Yeah," said Guile. "Is he like a relative or something?"  
  
Guile was joking when he said that, but when Rayden turns to him, the look on Rayden's face obviously proved to him that he was not joking.  
  
"Shao is more than a relative," Rayden replied.  
  
"Really?" asked Ken.  
  
"Yes," Rayden said. He bowed his head. "Shao Kahn is my brother.  
  
***  
  
Dan and Mika stand by the edge of the woods and look at Nightwolf. "Thank you for helping us," said Mika. "We'd stay longer, but we have to get back to the tournament."  
  
"It's my pleasure," said Nightwolf. "Come back here someday and let me know how much you improve."  
  
Dan gave Nightwolf the thumbs up. "That won't be a problem. We'll see you around."  
  
"Remember," Nightwolf said. "Your will to be strong is in your heart."  
  
Dan and Mika nodded. They wave goodbye to Nightwolf and began making their way towards the trail, which will lead them back to their camp.  
  
"Dan, I had a bad thought last night," Mika said. "I wonder if anyone is alive back at the camp."  
  
Dan wraps his arm around her. "Don't worry, babe. I'm sure everyone's still alive."  
  
Neither of them knew what happened back at the camp of course..........  
  
***  
  
"Crap!" cried Fei-Long getting into his fighting stance. Sub-Zero followed as they stare at the demon in front of them; Scorpion. His white eyes peer at them.  
  
"He's fast, Fei-Long," Sub-Zero said. "Watch out for his flying snakes."  
  
"What flying snakes?" Fei-Long asked. As soon as he finished that sentence, a gray snake wraps around his waist.  
  
"FEI-LONG!!!!!!!!!" Sub-Zero cried. Fei-Long was pulled over towards Scorpion.  
  
"GET OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Scorpion shouted. He punches Fei- Long's chin sending him flying across the pit. Sub-Zero runs toward the Lin Kuei demon. The two throw kicks and punches at each other and both manage to block each other  
  
Fei-Long gets up and runs toward Scorpion. "WAA- CCHHHHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he cries out. He goes under him, jumps, and kicks up. He hits Scorpion's jaw sending him flying backwards.  
  
Fei-Long returns to his fighting stance. "That's for hitting my chin!"  
  
Scorpion quickly gets up and puts his hands out. Two snakes fly in lightning speed, one towards Fei-Long and one towards Sub-Zero.  
  
"GET OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Scorpion shouted once again. The snakes wrap around the good fighters' waist and quickly pull them over. When they stopped pulling, Sub-Zero and Fei-Long were a foot away from the demon. Scorpion punches them both rapidly in the face at the same time.  
  
"I'm not a punching bag!" Fei-Long cried. He manages to do a karate chop at the neck of the snake. The snake was chopped into two. He does the same thing to the snake holding Sub-Zero. The two fighters do a backward flip twice. Then they got into their fighting stances staring at Scorpion.  
  
Scorpion begins to take his mask off.  
  
"Shit!!" Sub-Zero cried out.  
  
Scorpion takes his mask off fully revealing his skull.  
  
"That's disgusting," said Fei-Long.  
  
Scorpion pulls back and opens his mouth. A big line of flames fire out towards Fei-Long.  
  
Sub-Zero puts his hands out. A gust of wind was heard and the flames were turned into ice. They fall to the ground and shatter into pieces.  
  
Sub-Zero looks at his hands. "I love doing that."  
  
"I noticed," Fei-Long replied.  
  
They look back up at Scorpion.........but he was gone.  
  
They raise their guards. "Where is he?" Fei-Long asked.  
  
Suddenly, with a blink of an eye, they were back on the trail.  
  
Fei-Long lowered his guard. "Looks like he doesn't want to fight anymore."  
  
Sub-Zero also lowered his guard. "Keep your eyes opened though." He looks up at the sky. "The sun is down, we've got to find Dan and Mika."  
  
"Right," Fei-Long replied. They get back on the trail and walk south.  
  
***  
  
"There it is," said Liu. They look up at the cliff. In the middle was Shao's Lair.  
  
"Now all we have to do is climb it," said Guile.  
  
"That won't be hard," they heard Rayden said. The men gasp and turn towards the cliff. Rayden stood up there.  
  
"How did you do that?" asked Ken.  
  
Rayden smirked. "Immortality has many great offers."  
  
Liu sighed. "Let's get climbing."  
  
For five minutes, the four men climb the cliff. They make it to the top safely.  
  
"Let's go in," said Ryu. Rayden leads the way into the entrance of the lair. The hall was lit with candles hanging on the walls of the lair.  
  
Soon, they enter a balcony area. They try to peer down, but Rayden bends down quickly. "Get down!" he said. The four men bend down. They get up a little higher just enough to be able to see below.  
  
They saw of course, Reptile, Mileena, and Baraka. Two other people were with them including..........  
  
"Shao Kahn!" said Liu.  
  
"So that's him," said Ryu.  
  
Next to Shao was a woman in a purple swimsuit-like outfit, black knee high boots, and very long white hair with a black streak in the middle. Her white eyes glowed just like Bison's.  
  
Rayden gasped. "Queen Sindel. Shao must've resurrected her!"  
  
Then, someone comes in wearing a black cloak. The person took off the hood of the cloak revealing.........  
  
"Shang Tsung," said Guile. "He works for Outworld?"  
  
"Looks like it," replied Ken.  
  
They talked, but no one could hear anything.  
  
"Sounds like they're being careful about their conversations," said Ken. "Let's go find Chun-Li."  
  
Suddenly, they heard a monstrous battle cry. The five men turn around to see a half-human half-dragon female with four arms.  
  
"Or maybe we'll let ourselves be chased by one, mean, ugly, scary, lady," Ken said.  
  
"Who is that?" asked Guile as they all stood up.  
  
"Sheeva, Queen Sindel's bodyguard," Rayden replied.  
  
"Destroy them!!!" they heard. They turn around. Shao and the others down in the lair have spotted them.  
  
"RUN!!!" cried Ken. The five men break into a sprint. 


	15. Ch 14: The Captures

(After two weeks of not typing anything about "The Outworld," I finally got the next chapter up! Enjoy!)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
  
  
Guy and Kitana sit by the fire alone while the others were either inside the cave or training in the woods.  
  
Guy looks at Kitana. The expression on her face makes it look like that she was sad about something. She plays with the sand, picking it up and letting it fall back little by little.  
  
Guy sighs and takes her hand as soon as her last handful of sand leaves her hand. "Kitana," he said. "What's wrong?"  
  
Kitana looks at him and sighs. "I'm just so angry. I mean, Rose didn't deserve what was coming for her. She was a sweet woman and she, like the others, didn't deserve that." She squeezes Guy's hand. "There is another thing that has been bothering me. Jax mentioned that he believes that there is something up with the tournament, like something, or someone, is after just our group in this cave. I'm starting to think that, too, especially since my stepfather's lair is located here."  
  
Guy remembers the dream he had a few nights ago about Shao Kahn. He will never forget what he said he would do to Kitana. Guy growled in his head. "(I'll find you one day Shao and I'll kill you with all that I've got.)"  
  
Kitana saw the angry look on his face. She reaches over to him and touches his face. "We will get my stepfather one day, I know we will."  
  
Guy looks over at her. They stare into each other's brown eyes. They can both feel their hearts pounding and their palms sweating. They also felt the blood running to their faces making them blush. Guy smirks at Kitana. Then, he leans toward her and, finally, their lips meet. They kiss softly and collecting every moment of the kiss. To Kitana, Guy was very gentle when he kisses and to Guy, Kitana's kiss was as sweet as strawberries. Both wish that this moment never ended.  
  
Eventually, the moment did have to end. Kitana moves her head back a little and they look into each other's eyes again. Guy touches her face. He wanted to tell her that he loves her, but for some reason, he couldn't get those words out.  
  
***  
  
A shadow walks through the woods. It looks around for something. It keeps searching throughout the wooded area. Then, it spots the targets. Two people, a guy and a girl, were walking through a trail.  
  
This shadow has left a lair not too long ago after the lair's army chased after a few others like these targets.  
  
Then, the shadow spots a hut. It knew that it had to hide.  
  
The shadow goes into the hut........  
  
(A/N: I know, that was confusing, but you'll see why that was there in a few moments)  
  
***  
  
"Here we are!" cried Dan with excitement. "Hereto's hut! Let's pay him a visit like we promised."  
  
"Sure," said Mika. They walk up to the hut and knock on the door. Hereto the Wizard opens the door.  
  
"Hello," Hereto says with a smile. "It's nice to see you two again."  
  
"It's nice to see you again too," said Mika.  
  
"Come on in," Hereto said moving back inside the hut. "I made drinks for you two."  
  
"Cool!" Dan cried. The two go into the hut and site around the coffee table. The drinks were in steel cups.  
  
Not having anything to drink since leaving Nightwolf's camp, Dan and Mika gulped down the drink quickly until their cups were empty. "That was good!" Dan said.  
  
"So how was the visit to Nightwolf?" Hereto asked.  
  
"He really helped us," Mika replied. She tells him what happened from the moment they found Nightwolf, to the moment they left the camp.  
  
"I'm pleased that your journey went well," Hereto said after Mika finished the story.  
  
Meanwhile, Fei-Long and Sub-Zero spot a hut. They stare at it for a minute.  
  
"Maybe Dan and Mika are there," said Fei-Long.  
  
"Let's go find out," Sub-Zero said. They go up to the door and knock on it. A few seconds later, a medium-sized man opens the door.  
  
"May I help you?" the man asked.  
  
"Hey, Fei-Long!!" cried a voice. Dan comes out from the hut. "Long time, no see!"  
  
Fei-Long narrows his eyes. He wanted to choke him, but remains calm. "Were the hell were you two? Everyone thought you two were dead."  
  
"We got lost for a while," Mika replied. "We were on our way back to the cave."  
  
"Won't you two come in and have drinks with us?" Hereto asked looking at Fei-Long and Sub-Zero.  
  
Sub-Zero shrugs. "Well, I didn't really have anything to drink all day," he said. He and Fei-Long walk into the hut. Hereto pours more drinks into more cups. Fei-Long and Sub-Zero drink them slowly.  
  
"So, who's this?" Mika asked pointing to Sub-Zero.  
  
Fei-Long nods at him. "This is Sub-Zero, he joined us on the first day of the tournament."  
  
"Hi," Dan said. "I like your name."  
  
"Thanks," Sub-Zero replied.  
  
After finishing their drinks, the four fighters stood up. "Well, thank you, Hereto," Dan said. He held his stomach. "But I'm starting to get sick and we better get back to the tournament."  
  
Suddenly, after walking a few feet ahead, he passed out.  
  
"Dan?" Mika cried. Then she passed out.  
  
"What the......" Fei-Long said before passing out as well.  
  
Sub-Zero narrows his eyes at Hereto. "You....." He only managed to say before passing out as well.  
  
Hereto laughed before shape shifting into......the shadow from before. The shadow; Shang Tsung.  
  
Shang smirks to himself and laughs in his head. "(Sad to believe that those fools fell for that)" He opens the door. The real Hereto falls out dead.  
  
"Thank you my friend," Shang says looking at Hereto. "If I haven't been able to take your mind as well, I would've never caught those fools. Never knew those potions would knock them out in a flash."  
  
Shang killed Hereto just one minute before Dan and Mika showed up at his hut.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, Ryu, Ken, Guile, Liu, and Rayden are hiding from Shao Kahn and his Outworld army in a small pit.  
  
"Guys," said Ken. "We've been hiding in this stupid pit for three hours! My feet are asleep!"  
  
"Patience," said Rayden. "I sense their closeness from here."  
  
They hear giant footsteps running around looking for the fighters. They could hear them talking, pacing around, even the clinging of their steel weapons.  
  
About a half hour later, Rayden stands up. "They are far. Let's go!"  
  
The four fighters follow him out of the small pit and they slowly and quietly jog down the long halls. The candles on the walls would flicker each time the fighters pass them.  
  
Suddenly, Rayden stops. He looks up.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Ryu.  
  
Rayden looks straight ahead. "We're surrounded."  
  
They find a door just a few feet ahead of them. They run to the door. Liu opens it and they run it. Liu shuts the door behind them.  
  
"Such a coincidence that you guys are running from the army and end up finding me here," they heard a female voice say. The fighters turn around and find Chun-Li chained to a wall.  
  
"Chun-Li!" cried Guile. He and the others run up her.  
  
"Are you all right?" Ryu asked.  
  
"I'm fine, the worse they did was chain me," Chun-Li replied. Rayden uses his electric powers to break the chains.  
  
Just as he frees her, they hear the door fly open.  
  
"Crap!" cried Ken.  
  
All six fighters turn around. They see skinny monsters with arrows pointing at them. Then, Sheeva appears.  
  
"Look! It's the ugly lady again!" said Ken.  
  
Sheeva lets out a loud roar.  
  
Ken looks at her eyes wide, mouth dropped open, and feeling the hair on his neck stand on ends.  
  
Sheeva looks out the door. "They're in here!" she cried.  
  
They hear more footsteps. Four figures come in. The fighters recognize them as Mileena, Reptile, Sindel, and Shao himself.  
  
"You fools think you could get away with this," said Sindel with an evil smile. Her white eyes glow.  
  
Shao steps up. "I'll take it from here, my dear," he says.  
  
The six fighters get into their fighting stances. "What do you want?" Chun- Li asked.  
  
Shao removes his helmet and mask revealing his young-looking face, bushy black eyebrows, and his baldhead. He smiles. "A valuable procession each and every human being owns."  
  
"What would that be?" asked Ryu.  
  
"You know," Shao replied.  
  
None of the fighters figured out what it was that was a valuable procession.  
  
Guile then noticed something. "Where's Shang?"  
  
"He has important business, something that came to his sense a couple of hours ago, but that's not important right now," Shao said. "What's important right now.....is a deal."  
  
"A deal?" asked Liu. "What kind of deal?"  
  
Shao grins more evilly. "Reptile always loves a good fight. Not once has he ever lost. If not a win, it's a draw and he goes for it again and it ends with victory. Here is the deal..........Reptile will chose one of you five men to fight him. If you win, you five and Chun-Li will go free. If Reptile wins, I shall take your most valuable processions." "It's a deal!" cried Rayden.  
  
Shao looks at Reptile. "Reptile, choose your opponent."  
  
Reptile steps up. He narrows his dark eyes and looks at Ryu, Ken, Guile, Liu, and Rayden. He walks closer to all of them and paces himself back and forth between the five. Then he stops and stares at his chosen opponent......  
  
Ryu.  
  
"Excellent!" Shao said.  
  
Ryu narrows his eyes. "This will be the first fight you will ever lose."  
  
Shao laughs. "This is a fight to the bloodiest death of all! Let's be on our way now and let the death match begin!!" His laugh echoes throughout the lair. 


	16. Ch 15: Ryu Vs Reptile

Chapter Fifteen  
  
  
  
  
  
The good fighters and the forces of evil walk through the long hall of the lair. Nothing comes to their mind except for the upcoming battle between Ryu and Reptile. Everyone knew that this was the battle to the death, just like all the other battles in the tournament.  
  
In Chun-Li's mind, she remembers Shao saying 'This is the fight to the bloodiest death of all.' The thought of those words send a chill up Chun- Li's spine. What did Shao means by 'the bloodiest death of all?' She has already seen people explode into nothing. She wonders what could be any bloodier.  
  
She looked at Ryu. Ryu is a strong Shotokan warrior with a strong will and a good heart. He has never lost a battle......but she wondered if this battle will be different from all the other battles he's been in.  
  
She looked at Ryu's opponent Reptile. Reptile has survived some of his own battles in the tournament and has escaped death twice since they first saw him.  
  
Both warriors have never lost a battle. Today, fate will declare who is the true winner when it comes to battle. The losing opponent will fall to his death.  
  
The group enters a huge lair. Everyone was shocked to see where Ryu and Reptile are going to fight. They are going to fight on a deck with no guards........150 feet above.  
  
"That's pretty high," said Guile. "What's the point of that?"  
  
That's when they looked into the pit below the deck. In a deep pit, the running blades began to speed up.  
  
"(So that's what he meant by 'the bloodiest death of all')" thought Chun- Li.  
  
Reptile began to club up the ladder leading to the top of the deck. Ryu looked up and then back towards his friends.  
  
"Good luck, my friend," said Liu patting Ryu's shoulders.  
  
"Make sure he's turns into a bloody pulp," said Guile.  
  
"Let your heart guide you," said Rayden.  
  
"You better get back down here soon," said Ken.  
  
"I will," Ryu promised.  
  
He looks at Chun-Li. They stared at each other for a minute. Ryu could see her tears developing in her chestnut brown eyes. He felt his heart cry in pain.  
  
Chun-Li looked into Ryu's eyes. There seemed to be some sort of sadness in them. She felt her own heart ache.  
  
Ryu walked over to her and softly kissed Chun-Li's cheek. Chun-Li felt her heart ache more. She wanted to embrace him and kiss his lips, but she stayed frozen.  
  
Ryu pulled away. He looked at her a little bit longer before he started to make his way up to the deck.  
  
Chun-Li held her hands above her heart. She had a bad feeling about this tournament.  
  
Ryu makes it to the top of the deck where Reptile was waiting. Reptile was doing a few stretches. As soon as Ryu planted his foot on the wooden deck, Reptile got into his fighting stance.  
  
The deck was about fifty feet in length and only five feet in width. Ryu knew that if he fell forward or backwards, he'll be fine, but fall on either side, it would be the end of his life.  
  
Ryu gets into his fighting stance.  
  
Shao, now knowing that the fighters are ready, shouts out, "Let the death match begin!!"  
  
Tension begins to build up among Ryu's friends.  
  
For a while, Ryu and Reptile only stared at each other in their fighting stances. Ryu, with one arm to his side and the other just lining up with his chin, bends his knees up and down a little narrowing his eyes at his opponent. Reptile also bends his knees up and down. His hands are out moving in front of him in a circular motion. He also narrows his eyes at his opponent.  
  
Everybody at the bottom could do nothing but watch. More tears developed in Chun-Li's eyes. Rayden's eyes glows in a blue color. "(Be careful, my friend)" he thought.  
  
Suddenly, Reptile jumps high in the air and puts one leg out. Ryu rolls under him and Reptile lands in the spot where Ryu was standing. Ryu got himself back up. Reptile starts doing backward flips towards Ryu. Ryu backs up, but then got trapped up in a dead end. By the ladders were statues, which only protects the fighters on each end of the deck. Reptile manages to hit Ryu with his feet square in the face. Ryu almost loses his balance, but manages to get back in his fighting stance.  
  
Then, Reptile manages to throw punches at Ryu. Ryu blocks every one of them. Ryu finds an opening and slugs Reptile. As soon as Ryu got into offense, Reptile immediately starts blocking him. Ryu was walking towards Reptile and Reptile tries to back away from Ryu as he plays defense.  
  
They end up walking to the other end of the deck. Reptile jumps back and then quickly flips over him. Ryu turns around as soon as Reptile landed. Reptile throws another punch at Ryu and Ryu blocks it. Once again, Reptile was playing offense and Ryu was playing defense.  
  
Then, Reptile manages to find an opening. He bends down and does a quick turn with one leg out. Ryu loses his balance. Luckily, he only fell backwards and lands on his back. Reptile runs up to him. Just before Ryu could recover from the fall, Reptile bends down to him and throw a hard punch to his stomach.  
  
The wind was knocked out of Ryu, but he still manages to kick Reptile out of the way. Reptile falls backwards and Ryu attempts to get up with the statue as his guide. Reptile got up as well and he runs towards Ryu. Ryu stands there. When Reptile reaches him, he throws another punch at him. Ryu blocks it, but because the wind was knocked out of Ryu badly, Reptile successfully punches him. Ryu tries to block, but he couldn't ignore the pain in his stomach.  
  
Then, Reptile does a flip hitting Ryu square in the chin. Ryu falls back towards the statue and hits his head hard against it. Blood started to trickle down the back of his head, but Ryu tries to ignore the pain. Reptile does a couple of more flips backwards. Then, he stances back into his fighting stance.  
  
Ryu, holding the back of his head, walks slowly towards Reptile. Reptile then does a few forward flips, but Ryu was prepared. He manages to jump right over Reptile. Reptile stands up straight and looks up at Ryu. Then, Ryu kicks Reptile in the faces. Reptile steps back a little, but still remains his balance.  
  
Ryu lands on his feet. He almost loses his balance but still manages to keep his feet on the wooden deck. Reptile runs over to him and throws another hard punch, this time to the face. He throws more punches. Ryu tries to block again, but the blow threw him off again.  
  
Meanwhile down in the lair, Ryu's friends watch him. More tears develop in Chun-Li's eyes as she watches the man she loves get his beating. "(Please Ryu)" she thought. "(Please don't die on me.)"  
  
Then, she remembered something. When Johnny Cage was killed, Sonya mentioned that she's been so occupied with her job that she never got the chance to tell Johnny her feelings for him and now she regrets it. Chun-Li became scared. Could it be too late now to tell her how she feels for Ryu? She would go up to the deck right now and tell him, but Reptile could throw her off the deck in two seconds sending her down to the pit of running blades. Chun-Li begins to hope.......hope that Ryu will live through this so she could tell her how she feels for him.  
  
Reptile throws a punch at Ryu right in the gut. Ryu coughed up some blood. "(He's a better fighter than I thought he was)" Ryu thought. "(I hope I could live through this..........and tell Chun-Li how I feel for her.)"  
  
Suddenly, Reptile does a roundhouse kick at Ryu sending him flying to the side...........towards the pit.  
  
Everyone in the bottom turned around.  
  
"RYU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Chun-Li cried as she covered her face. Everyone expected to hear him get caught in the running blades and then feel all the blood splatter onto their skins.  
  
When nothing happened, Chun-Li dared herself to turn around. She looks up at the deck. Her tears finally fall out of her eyes. Ryu was hanging out to the edge of the deck.  
  
"Oh God!" she cried out.  
  
Everyone else turned around and saw Ryu hanging on to his life.  
  
"You can do it, Ryu!!" cried Ken.  
  
Reptile walks over to Ryu. He attempts to step on his hands. Ryu moves his hands to the side every time Reptile tries to step on them.  
  
Then, to Ryu's surprise, Reptile steps on both of Ryu's hands with both of his feet. Reptile uses his heels and steps on his hands as hard as he can. Ryu tries his best to ignore the pain. If he tried to remove his hands now, he was sure to fall into the running blades.  
  
Then, Ryu had an idea. He uses his right hand and starts to lift up Reptile's feet. Finally, he manages to come free. Reptile loses his balances and falls towards the deck.  
  
Ryu starts to collect energy with his right hand.  
  
Reptile gets up, not realizing what Ryu is doing.  
  
He slowly removes his mask.  
  
Everyone looks up. They gasp as Reptile revealed his chameleon-like face.  
  
"That's the worst of it," said Rayden.  
  
Everyone looked at Rayden. "No....." said Liu.  
  
Ryu looks up and sees the now-hideous Reptile. Reptile pulls back a little. A big glob of acid comes out of his mouth aiming towards Ryu.  
  
To Ryu, it was now or never..........  
  
"Hadouken!!!" Ryu cried out. He throws a ball of energy half the size of his original ones. The energy hits the acid. It pushes the acid as it flies towards Reptile.  
  
The energy and acid hit Reptile. Reptile shrieks in horror as he is burned with his own acid (A/N: I don't know if that can happen to Reptile, it's just a guess for me for now). Then, the energy hits him in the chest, knocking him off the deck.  
  
"This is it!!" cried Ken. Everyone turns around as the death of a fighter approaches.  
  
Reptile looks at Ryu, still hanging off the deck, one more time before being perished into the running blades. The blades chop him up into little pieces of bones, flesh, and blood. It all flew everywhere.  
  
Ryu was the only one who watched Reptile's death. "(I did it)" he thought. "(I beat Reptile.)"  
  
Chun-Li turns around and looks back up at Ryu. He was still hanging onto the deck.  
  
"RYU!!!!" she cried out. "Oh God, Ryu!!" she runs towards the ladder and quickly climbs it.  
  
Ken smirks up at his best friend. Ryu returns the smirk. "Great job, my friend," Ken said. "I knew I could count on you to be the survivor."  
  
Chun-Li makes it to the top. "Ryu!! You're alive!!"  
  
Ryu looks up at Chun-Li. "Yeah," he said. "I made it."  
  
Chun-Li helps Ryu pull himself up to the deck. When he gets to the deck, Chun-Li throws her arms around her and begins sobbing in his arms. Ryu embraced her and held her close to him.  
  
Chun-Li looks into his dark eyes. Her tears stained her face. Ryu wips the tears away.  
  
Then, to his surprise, Chun-Li leans towards Ryu and presses her lips against his. Ryu was shocked by this.  
  
He never knew that this could happen to him.  
  
He brought her closer to him and return the kiss. For a minute, the two share a sweet, passionate kiss.  
  
When Ryu pulled away, he looks into Chun-Li's eyes. "I love you," he said.  
  
He realized his love for her just before getting up the ladder.  
  
Chun-Li was shocked to hear this, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that Ryu was okay and that he was alive.  
  
She embraces him again. "I love you too!!"  
  
Ryu hugged her back. He could feel his heart pounding for her. He looks down at his other friends.  
  
That's when he noticed Shao Kahn grabbing Ken from behind.  
  
Ryu gasped. "KEN!!!!!"  
  
Shao looks up at Ryu with Ken in his arms. "You fool!! This is what happens when you kill one of my best warriors!!"  
  
"KKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ryu cried out as Shao begins to twist Ken's neck.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Well, there's chapter 15. All right now, what I'm about to ask you guys is something out of a big thank you for reviewing this story. I actually haven't decided if Ken should die or not. I'm going to leave it up to you guys. Should Ken live or die.....YOU chose. The most votes is the one that's going to happen (I already decided what's going to happen if one or the other happen). And PLEASE don't say, "It's your story, it's up to you." Oh yes, and give your reason for Ken to live or die. Hoped u enjoyed chapter 15, and check out my website while you're at it (it has really cool animated gif's especially in my "Outworld" section). 


	17. Ch 16: The First Escape

Well, according to the votes and my decision, it comes down to this......  
  
***********************************************  
  
Chapter Sixteen  
  
  
  
Ryu looks into Chun-Li eyes. "I love you."  
  
Tears filled up in Chun-Li's eyes. "I love you too."  
  
They embrace. Ryu brings her closer to him. When he looks down at his four friends, he sees Shao grabbing Ken from behind.  
  
"KEN!!!!!" Ryu cried out.  
  
Shao looks up at Ryu. "You fool! This is what happens when you kill one of my best warriors."  
  
"KKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ryu cried as Shao begins to twist Ken's neck.  
  
Ken holds back and looks up at the deck. "RRRYYYYYUUUUUUUU!!!!"  
  
That's when someone came flying by and hits Shao on his side. Electric shocks covered the person's body. Shao goes flying with him, letting go of Ken. Ken falls just a few feet away from the running blades.  
  
"KEN!!" Ryu cried out again.  
  
Ken rubs the back of his neck. "Wow! I'm alive!"  
  
Liu and Guile run over to Ken. "You all right?" Guile asked.  
  
Ken gets up and rubs his neck again. "Yeah, I think I am."  
  
"Rayden just saved your life," said Liu.  
  
They looked over at where Shao and Rayden were. "Fools!!" Shao cried out. He points at the good fighters. "Attack them!!"  
  
"Time to go!" Guile cried.  
  
"What about Ryu and Chun-Li?" asked Liu. "They're still on the deck."  
  
"You guys go!" Ryu cried out. "We'll be fine."  
  
"Ryu," said Rayden. "We can't just leave you here."  
  
"Go!" Chun-Li cried. "It's better if two of us die than all of us."  
  
"You sure?" Guile asked.  
  
"YES!" Ryu shouted. "Go!"  
  
Ken, Guile, Rayden, and Liu run out of the lair. Some the army of Outworld chased after them. Others went up the ladders to go after Ryu and Chun-Li.  
  
As the four men run out of the lair, Liu looks at Rayden. "I don't think we should've left Ryu and Chun-Li back there. What if they end up falling into the running blades? Some of the army was going up the ladder."  
  
"They'll be fine," Rayden said. "Their strengths are strong."  
  
Guile suddenly throws a sonic boom behind him to knock out at least the first few rows of the army chasing after them.  
  
"Does anybody remember how to get out of here?" Ken asked.  
  
The four men were silent as they run through the lair.  
  
***  
  
Dan walks up to a foul smell. The last thing he remembered was feeling a bit sick from the drink he had that Hereto gave to him.  
  
"(What did Hereto put in those drinks?)" he asked himself. "(Why did Hereto turn against Mika and I?)"  
  
"Dan," he heard a male faint voice say. Dan looks to his left. Next to him was Sub-Zero.  
  
"Yeah?" Dan asked.  
  
"It wasn't Hereto who did this to us," Sub-Zero said. "Shang Tsung has the ability to shape shift to other people who are already dead."  
  
Dan then realized where he was. He, Sub-Zero, Fei-Long, and Mika were hanging against a wall by chains. Neither Fei-Long nor Mika were awake yet.  
  
"How did you know Shang did this?" Dan asked.  
  
Sub-Zero looked at him. "I could sense him, even when he's someone else. I realized it just before I passed out."  
  
"What do we do now?" Dan asked.  
  
Sub-Zero shrugged. "None of my powers can free us from these chains, but if we do get out, you three get out of here. I want to deal with Shang myself."  
  
"We can't leave you here," Dan replied. "You'll need us."  
  
"This is why I came here," Sub-Zero said. "I only joined Lin Kuei for one reason..........to avenge my brother's death, alone. This tournament has given me the opportunity to do so."  
  
Dan's face lit up suddenly. "Sub-Zero, you know what I just realized, about Shang........"  
  
"He's the one who takes the souls after their battle," Sub-Zero said. "I wanted to tell everyone that, but that will only lead to extermination in Shao's way. Then, the tournament will never be over."  
  
Dan understood. "(I wonder if anyone is all right back in the cave?)"  
  
*** Sonya looks out at the beach for a while. It was three in the morning. She was tired, but she didn't want to go to sleep. She thought about Johnny and Rose. She wished that she could've done something to save them. Then she thought about Chun-Li. Other than Jax, Chun-Li was the only other person left she felt close to out of all the people in the cave.  
  
"(God, I hope she's all right)" she thought. "(I hope the men got to her in time.)"  
  
That's when she felt a presence behind her. She turns around and sees Jax walking up to her.  
  
"Can't sleep either?" she asked.  
  
Jax nodded. "Yeah. I noticed your sleeping bag was empty. I figured that you were out here."  
  
Tears developed in Sonya's eyes. "Jax.......I feel that every time I get close to a friend, they die."  
  
"Don't blame yourself," Jax said. "It's Outworld that should be blamed for. We already know that they sponsor this tournament." He wraps his arms around her. "We'll stop them, I promise. Don't worry......I won't die on you either."  
  
Sonya hugged him back. "I hope not."  
  
***  
  
Chun-Li looked at the Outworld army in terror as they made their up towards the deck where she and Ryu were.  
  
"Chun-Li," Ryu said. "We're going to have to separate and take down the army. You go left and I'll go right." He quickly kisses her. After the kiss, Chun-Li nods in agreement.  
  
They turn their backs towards each other and run towards the army.  
  
"KIKOKEN!!!!!!!" Chun-Li cried out. A big ball of energy comes out of her hands knocking out the army on the deck right off it. She makes her way towards the ladder.  
  
"HADOUKEN!!!!" Ryu cried out. With his own ball of energy, he was able to knock out all the army on the deck. He runs over to the ladder. Other members of the Outworld army were climbing up the ladder.  
  
"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!!!!!!" Ryu cried out. He jumps off the deck and goes down while doing his hurricane kick. He was able to knock out all the army on the ladder right off. He lands safely onto the ground. He looks up. Chun-Li was still on the deck. The Outworld has made their way up to the deck.  
  
"RYU!!" Chun-Li cried as she tries her best to fight all of them.  
  
"Hang on!!!" Ryu cried. He punches and kicks his way towards the other side of the deck where Chun-Li was.  
  
"Hadouken!!!!!!!!" he cried out knocking down the army trying to make their way up the ladder.  
  
He looks up at Chun-Li. Some other members of the army were either still climbing up the ladder or they made their way towards Chun-Li.  
  
Ryu quickly climbs the ladder about eighty feet. "SHORYUKEN!!!!!!" he cried out. He was able to make his way up and knock every Outworld member on the ladder off. He lands on the deck and helps Chun-Li out with the army on the deck.  
  
Chun-Li makes her way towards him. "Let's get out of here," she said.  
  
Ryu nods. Just as they do, Chun-Li ends up slipping and falls towards the pit! She shrieks with terror.  
  
Ryu felt his heart jump to his throat. "Chun-Li!!" he cried out. He grabs on to Chun-Li's wrist and hangs on to her as tight as he can.  
  
The army were making their way up on either end of the deck.  
  
Chun-Li noticed that they were only a few feet away from the safe part of the ground below them. "Ryu!" she cried. "You're going to have to swing me over to the ground."  
  
"Chun-Li......" Ryu started to say.  
  
"It's the only way you can save me!"  
  
She was right. The army was only a few feet away from them.  
  
Ryu swings her over to the ground. He closes his eyes as he lets her go.  
  
"Kikoken!!!" Chun-Li cried out. He knocks out some of the army off the ladder. Then, she turns herself upside down. "Spinning bird kick!!" she cried out. She knocks down the remaining army on the ladder as she made her way down to the ground. She lands safely with her hands. She makes herself right side up and looks up at the deck.  
  
"Tatsumaki Senpukyaki!!" she heard Ryu cry out. He knocks down the rest of the incoming army climbing the ladder. He lands safely onto the ground.  
  
Ryu runs over to Chun-Li. "Let's get out of here."  
  
They blast their ball of energies towards the rest of the army surrounding them. They knock out half the army and then make their way out of the lair.  
  
Meanwhile.........  
  
"I see an exit!!" cried Guile.  
  
A little while ago, Ken, Guile, Liu, and Rayden lost the army following them. They just found the exit to the lair. They get out and then jump off the cliff. They land on the ground and then make their way towards the woods.  
  
They stop just far enough for them to still see Shao's lair.  
  
"Ryu and Chun-Li," said Guile. "I hope they're all right."  
  
That's when they all sensed a strong ki.  
  
Ken's face lit up. "They're all right! They're making their way towards here right now."  
  
About five minutes later, two figures jump off the cliff and start running towards the woods.  
  
"Ryu! Chun-Li!" cried Rayden.  
  
Ryu and Chun-Li make their way towards the four waiting men. "We made it!" cried Liu.  
  
"Let's get back to the cave," said Chun-Li. "I'm sure our friends are worried about us."  
  
They run through the woods for the remainder of the night. 


	18. Ch 17: The Sixth Tournament

Chapter Seventeen  
  
  
  
The morning sun rises up into the sky. Clouds also appear as well.  
  
Jax was the only one awake out of everyone at the cave. He was setting up the fire and breakfast when he noticed six figures coming out of the woods. Jax squinted his eyes trying to see the figures but they were in a dark shadow. Then, they all step into the brightness of the sun revealing the six figures.  
  
Jax smiles as he sees Ryu, Ken, Guile, Liu, and Rayden along with Chun-Li well and alive.  
  
"You guys made it!" he cried. He runs over to the group. When he was a few feet away, he looks at Chun-Li. "Are you all right?"  
  
Chun-Li smiles. "Yes, I'm all right."  
  
"What's happened since we left, Jax?" asked Ken.  
  
Jax bows his head. "Rose didn't make it."  
  
Chun-Li gasps and puts her hand over her mouth.  
  
Jax looks back up at them. "But we can't let our emotions get in the way. We still have a tournament to get through."  
  
"Speaking of emotions," said Liu. "How's Sonya?"  
  
Jax shook his head. "Not too great, especially after Rose........." he trailed off.  
  
That's when a few others step out of the cave. "Hey Jax," said Rolento. "Is breakfast ready yet?"  
  
Honda looks over at where Jax is. "Hey! Look who's back!"  
  
Sonya was also one of the people who came out of the cave. She smiles, especially when she sees Chun-Li. "They made it!" she cried. She runs over to Chun-Li. "Thank goodness." The two women hug.  
  
"You guys should've been there," said Guile. "Ryu put a can of whoop-ass on Reptile."  
  
"Really?" Jax said stunned. "He's one of Shao's best warriors."  
  
"Speaking of Shao," said Ken. "He almost broke my neck." He pats Rayden's shoulder. "But the Thunder God here came to the rescue."  
  
That's when two people emerge from the cave. The friends turn to them and see Guy and Kitana holding hands.  
  
Kitana notices the stares from everyone. "What? Ever seen a ten thousand year old woman holding hands with a twenty-nine year old man before?"  
  
Everyone laughed.  
  
"Okay everyone," Jax said. "Breakfast is almost ready. We must prepare for the next tournament."  
  
***  
  
Sub-Zero and Dan wake up in their dungeon.  
  
"That was the most uncomftable sleep I've ever had," said Dan.  
  
"Umm, I'm guessing because we've been hanging on the wall by chains all night," Sub-Zero replied.  
  
Fei-Long wakes up fluttering his eyes. He then starts looking around. "Wha......what is this place?"  
  
"Shang Tsung's dungeon," said Sub-Zero.  
  
Mika starts waking up as well. "I have a headache," said mumbled.  
  
That's when the doors of the dungeon opens. Everyone looks up to see a figure in a black cloak walking in. A black hood covers the figures face.  
  
"Grim Reaper?" Dan asked.  
  
"No," Sub-Zero said knowing full well by senses who this is. "Shang Tsung."  
  
The figure pulls over his hood revealing Shang.  
  
"May I suggest to PLEASE keep your hood over your face?" Fei-Long asked.  
  
That's when Shang puts his hand out. Fei-Long could feel his insides twisting. Fei-Long shuts his eyes tightly and growls in pain. After a few seconds, Shang puts his hand down. Fei-Long was still growling.  
  
"I hope you are enjoying your stay," said Shang. "We are kind enough to at least give you a meal. The sun has just risen. Your meals will be ready in twelve hours."  
  
"Twelve hours?!!" cried Dan. "That's a long time, I can't wait that........"  
  
Shang puts his hand out. Dan starts to cry in pain. Mika watches this and tears develop in her eyes.  
  
Shang puts his hand down. "As I said, your meals will be ready in twelve hours. For now, I have a tournament to host, more souls for me to take." He begins walking out of the dungeon.  
  
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH WHAT YOU DID TO MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sub- Zero cried out.  
  
Shang turns to him and puts his hand out. Sub-Zero starts to cry in pain. Shang makes the pain last a little longer than the last two. Then he puts his hand down. He steps out of the dungeon and closes the doors. The slamming of the door could be heard throughout the area.  
  
***  
  
The friends enter the indoor ring. The clouds have covered the sky threatening a storm.  
  
"Honda and Dhalsim are fighting today," said Jax. He sees Dhalsim meditating and Honda warming up.  
  
Shang enters the arena and sits at his throne. "Welcome to the next tournament. First up, Dhalsim versus Kano."  
  
"(Why is that name familiar?)" Guile asked himself. Then he remembers. Kano was the one who killed Dee Jay, the first to die out of everyone in the cave.  
  
Dhalsim stops his meditation and begins walking towards the ring. Kano was already in the ring waiting for him.  
  
"Eck!" cried Sonya. "Did he have to leave his shirt off? He has the body of a monkey."  
  
Jax looks at her. "Then why are you staring at his body?" He gives Sonya a devilish grin.  
  
Sonya got the flirting message and lightly shoves Jax. "Just be quiet."  
  
"Begin!" cried Shang. Everyone looks into the ring where the fighters are.  
  
Dhalsim and Kano circle the ring for a minute. Then, Kano charges at him. As he does, Dhalsim teleports behind him.  
  
"What the......" Kano said as he turns around to find Dhalsim. Kano runs towards him and starts throwing punches at Dhalsim. Dhalsim blocks every one of them. Then, he takes his legs and stretches it out quickly hitting Kano in the gut.  
  
Kano jumps back. Then, Dhalsim jumps in the air. With his feet towards Kano, Dhalsim flies down towards him. Kano sees this and jumps out of the way. Dhalsim lands back on his feet.  
  
"Yoga fire!" Dhalsim cried out. He spits out a ball of fire. It flies towards Kano. Kano dives out of the way.  
  
"You skinny skeleton!" Kano cried out. He runs towards Dhalsim and begins throwing punches at him. Dhalsim blocks every one of them.  
  
After a while, Kano manages to break through Dhalsim's block. He throws his punches at Dhalsim's head, face, and stomach. Dhalsim then jumps back feeling a little dizzy.  
  
Then, Kano jumps in the air and darts at Dhalsim rolled up into a ball. Everyone knew that Dhalsim could dodge this one, but for some reason, he didn't budge.  
  
Kano hits him hard in the chest breaking his ribs. One ribs manages to puncture his lung.  
  
"No way!" Jax cried. "Dhalsim had time to teleport out of there."  
  
Dhalsim hears this and looks up at Jax. "A demon. There's a demon in this room, a very strong one. He....he paralyzed me when Kano went after me."  
  
"Finish him!"  
  
"Find the demon, Jax. He's the one who is........." before Dhalsim could finish, Kano performs the same move that broke Dhalsim's ribs. This time, Kano hits him in the head, hard enough to kill him.  
  
Kano lands back on his feet.  
  
"The winner, Kano!" Shang cried out standing up.  
  
The quiet scream could be heard throughout the ring.  
  
"(Whoever this 'demon' is,)" Jax thought. "(It must be responsible for the soul-taking. Obviously, this demon must work for Outworld.)"  
  
"Next," said Shang. "Honda versus Cammy."  
  
Chun-Li raises an eyebrow. "(Cammy? Why is that name so familiar?)"  
  
As soon as Honda's opponent steps into the ring, Chun-Li realizes who Cammy is. She is one of Bison's commanders for Shadowlaw.  
  
"(Outworld must've captured her too)" Chun-Li concluded.  
  
"Honda!" Chun-Li cried. Honda walks towards her.  
  
"Yes Chun-Li?"  
  
Chun-Li goes into a whisper. "Your opponent is someone I've been looking for for quite sometime. Try not to kill her."  
  
Honda gasps. "Chun-Li? You want me to die?!!"  
  
Chun-Li laughed. "No!! Never Honda." Her face turns serious again. "Do what Sub-Zero did to Guy in the beginning of the tournament."  
  
Honda nodded remembering what happened. He walks to the ring and gets into his fighting stance. Cammy is already in her fighting stance.  
  
Chun-Li turns to Jax. "Don't worry about Honda. I guarantee that he'll live through this tournament."  
  
"Not that I don't want him to die and all, but why do you say that?"  
  
"Begin!!" Shang cried out.  
  
Before Honda could react, Cammy immediately jumps towards him and kicks him in the face. Honda keeps his balance.  
  
Cammy starts throwing series of punches at Honda. Honda blocks most of them. Some of the punches hit him on the side and his gut.  
  
Honda then pulls back and attempts his hundred-hand slaps. Cammy dodges out of the way and kicks him her heel digging into his cheek.  
  
"(Damn,)" Honda thought. "(How am I going to make this a double K.O?)"  
  
Cammy crotches low to the ground and spins her body her feet towards Honda. "Cannon spike!" she cried out.  
  
Honda sees this and jumps over her. Cammy quickly gets back up.  
  
Cammy throws more punches and kicks at her.  
  
"(I gotta do something!)" Honda thought desperately.  
  
Then, an idea came to him.  
  
"Hi Cammy," Honda said smiling.  
  
Cammy was only two feet away from him. She looks up at him but still keeps her guard up.  
  
Suddenly, Honda steps towards her, grabs her, and squeezes her as hard as she can.  
  
Honda smiles. "I just wanted to give you a nice, big sumo hug!"  
  
Cammy struggles to get out of Honda's grip, but it was no use.  
  
"(Here's my chance)" Honda thought. "(Hopefully we both live.)"  
  
He uses his head to hit her head hard enough to knock her and himself out. They both fall to the ground.  
  
Honda's friends cross their fingers.  
  
After a minute Shang stands up. "Double K.O."  
  
Everyone sighed of relief.  
  
"Why did he do that?" Jax thought looking at Chun-Li.  
  
"I asked him to," she replied. "Cammy has suffered enough in her life. I'm pretty sure she didn't have a choice but to fight in this tournament."  
  
Jax nodded. "I understand." He sighs. He looks into the ring where Cammy and Honda lay unconscious. He then remembers Dhalsim's words about a 'demon.'  
  
"(I hope we find this demon, Dhalsim. As soon as we do, you and the others will finally rest in peace.)" 


	19. Ch 18: The Second Escape

Chapter Eighteen  
  
  
  
Chun-Li and Jax watch as Cammy slowly opens her eyes revealing the blue- colored iris. She starts looking around a little. When she spots Chun-Li and Jax, she gasps loudly and sits up fast.  
  
"Whoa, Cammy!" Jax cried putting his hands on her shoulders.  
  
"Where the bloody hell am I?" she demanded her British accent echoing through the cave.  
  
Jax gives her a bottle of water. "You're in a cave where we're staying. You'll be safe here I promise."  
  
Cammy calms down a little. "How did I end up in this tournament anyways?"  
  
Chun-Li bends down to her. "Bison has been controlling you mind for quite sometime, five years the most. Bison is gone now, but the man who killed him is far worse, but at least answer me this........is Shao Kahn controlling your mind in any way? If so, can you remember anything?"  
  
Cammy looks down. She stays silent for a while before looking back at Chun- Li. "Well, one minute I was giving orders to my master, the next I'm being told to exterminate my opponent in this tournament."  
  
Chun-Li looks at Jax and whispers, "My guess is that the farthest she can remember is Bison's last order before Shao captured her which is obviously not very long."  
  
She looks at Cammy again. It was obvious that she was frightened and wasn't sure exactly what is going on.  
  
Jax looks at her. "Just rest for now. Hopefully Chun-Li can get more information about what happened to you."  
  
Cammy only nods and lays back down closing her eyes.  
  
Meanwhile outside, some of the fighters were eating dinner.  
  
"I'm really not in the mood for fish," said Sonya. "Dhalsim was a vegetarian."  
  
"Tell me about it," said Ken putting his bowl down.  
  
"So what is happening now?" asked Rolento.  
  
Guile clears his throat. "Chun-Li and Jax are checking up on Cammy, the four of us are eating, Guy and Kitana are at one of those fancy dinner parties Kitana was invited to, and everyone else is sparring."  
  
"Fancy dinner party?" Ken said. "I'm a millionaire! Why didn't they invite me?"  
  
"Guess you're not that special," Sonya replied trying not to laugh.  
  
Ken sighs.  
  
"Speak of the devil," said Rolento pointed forward. Everyone turns around and sees Guy and Kitana walking towards them.  
  
"How was the dinner?" asked Guile.  
  
Guy smirks. "The best. I bet you that if Ryu saw all the food that was being served, he would devour all of it, even from other people's plates."  
  
Everyone laughs.  
  
"Yeah, he eats like a horse," said Ken. "You should see him whenever my place serves food."  
  
Kitana's face then turns serious. "Where's Jax?"  
  
"You need me?" a voice said. Everyone turns to see Jax and Chun-Li walking out of the cave towards the group.  
  
Kitana looks at Jax. "They made an announcement about a midnight tournament and all of the fighters are invited."  
  
"A midnight tournament?" cried Rolento. He spins his baton. "I'm ready for it!"  
  
"What's this midnight tournament about?" Jax asked.  
  
"Fighters in the audience will be chosen to fight," Kitana replied. "The challenger is..........Goro."  
  
Everyone becomes silent.  
  
"I was wondering when we would hear about him," said Ken.  
  
"Sounds like Goro is ready," Jax replied. He puts his fingers in his mouth and releases a very loud whistle.  
  
A few minutes later all of the fighters gather around the fire. Jax makes the announcement about Goro.  
  
"Hope you have a strong stomach," said Sonya. "He's not a pretty sight."  
  
"That's no worry for me," said Honda patting his big belly.  
  
Jax looks around then sighs. "Now Fei-Long and Sub-Zero are missing."  
  
Everyone looks around and realizes that indeed the two of them, along with Dan and Mika, are missing.  
  
"What happened to them?" asked Ryu.  
  
"I got a bad feeling that they're dead," Jax replied. "But we can't give up hope. This I'm going to do one more time.........I need two brave men to go out and find them, if anything suspicious happens, try to get back here immediately."  
  
"I'll go!" cried Cody.  
  
Rolento passes Cody a walkie-talkie. "This will help."  
  
Cody looks at Guy. "You going to come too, buddy?"  
  
Guy looks at Kitana. Her eyes seem to plead, not wanting him to leave.  
  
Cody got the message. "Well, I've got to admit, if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn't want to go either."  
  
"In that case," said Honda. "I'll go with you."  
  
"All right then," Jax said. "Cody and Honda, all I ask for you is to be careful and come back safe whether you find them or not."  
  
Cody and Honda nod.  
  
"We'll see you guys later!" Cody cried. He pats Guy's shoulder. "See you around, buddy."  
  
"See you," Guy replied as his best friend and the sumo wrestler make they way into the forest.  
  
***  
  
After hours of waiting, Dan, Mika, Fei-Long, and Sub-Zero are released from the chains by Shang Tsung's guards.  
  
They are escorted into a small room with the guards pointing bow and arrows at the good fighters. In the room is a low wooden table with a black candle in the middle. Four plates lay on the table holding their raw meat.  
  
"That's unhealthy," said Fei-Long. "But we do need to live."  
  
The meat wasn't all that bad, at least it was cooked a little so that maggots wouldn't form in their stomachs (A/N: Eck! That's the most disgusting thing I've ever described!).  
  
After finishing their meats, Fei-Long notices that the guards were outside of the room.  
  
"Guys," he whispered. "We have a chance to escape and get back to the tournament."  
  
"But what about the guards?" asked Mika.  
  
"We've got Sub-Zero," Fei-Long said.  
  
"What about me?!" Dan said. "I have my Gadouken!"  
  
"Yeah," Fei-Long said.  
  
Unfortunately, one of the guards was listening to the conversation.  
  
"Let's go," Fei-Long said. The four of the slowly get up.  
  
About four guards jump out of the way.  
  
Sub-Zero puts his hands out freezing all four guards.  
  
"That was easy," Mika said.  
  
"I know how we can get out of here faster," Sub-Zero said. He puts one leg up to one of the guards' necks. "Hope you guys know how to skate!"  
  
With his leg, he pushes the guard down and begins sliding out the door.  
  
"That was awesome!" cried Dan.  
  
Fei-Long does the same to one guard and follows Sub-Zero. Mika does the same next. Dan went last and the four of them slide down the long halls.  
  
Sub-Zero looks down at the guard he stood on top of. "The ices are melting. It won't be long before the guards start moving."  
  
Everyone steps off the guards. When Dan steps off, he slips and lands on his rear.  
  
"OW!!!" he cried. "My behind!"  
  
Fei-Long runs over to Dan and helps him up. "No time to complain! We've got to get out of here!"  
  
The four of them begin running down the hall hoping to find an exit. Mika was in front followed by Dan, then Fei-Long, and finally Sub-Zero.  
  
After running for five minutes, two guards appear out of nowhere. They manage to grab Sub-Zero and Fei-Long.  
  
"NNOOO!!!" Mika cried. She and Dan stop.  
  
"Go!" Sub-Zero cried. "This guard has a part of my hand that will help freeze!"  
  
"No!" Dan cried. "We're not leaving you! We're all friends here, and friends stick together!"  
  
"The least you can do is go back to the cave and tell the others what's going on!" Fei-Long cried.  
  
"He's right Dan," Mika said. "It's better for some of us to go back than none of us."  
  
Dan looks at Sub-Zero and Fei-Long one more time. "We'll be back for you, we promise."  
  
"We're counting on you!" Fei-Long cried. Dan and Mika start making their way down the hall.  
  
As they disappear, Fei-Long and Sub-Zero are dragged away.  
  
"Good luck," Sub-Zero whispers.  
  
**********************************************************  
  
Sorry that was short, but I didn't have too many ideas for this chapter. I'll tell you one thing; the next chapter is going to be a long one. 


	20. Ch 19: Friends 'Til The End

Chapter Nineteen  
  
  
  
All of the fighters who still remain in the cave all make their way towards the indoor ring where the midnight tournament will take place. They slowly walk through the long, dark halls.  
  
Jax looks at Cammy. "Are you sure that you are up to this? I mean, after all that's happened........"  
  
Cammy looks at Jax. "I'll be fine, at least I'll try to be."  
  
Jax nods. Honestly, according to Chun-Li, it was better for them to take her to this tournament than to leave her alone in the cave.  
  
Ryu and Chun-Li stay close together. Chun-Li looks up at Ryu. "I have a bad feeling about this tournament."  
  
Ryu looks at her with concern. "What do you mean?"  
  
Chun-Li looks down. "I mean, what if he chooses you?" She looks back up at him. "I don't want to.........."  
  
Ryu takes her into his arm and kisses her forehead. "Don't worry. You're not going to lose me."  
  
Chun-Li slowly nods, but she still has that bad feeling in her stomach.  
  
They enter the large hall where the ring is located. Everyone looks into the ring............and overcome with fear.  
  
"That's him," Jax said pointing at the ring. "That's Prince Goro."  
  
Everyone sees as the monster had just killed his opponent with just a few blows. He straightens himself up and cries in victory. Indeed, he was ugly. He was about seven feet tall with thin black hair tied into a ponytail on the top of his head while the rest of his head is bald. He has four arms, two in normal places, and the other two connected under them.  
  
"That thing is hideous," said Ken. "Even worse than Sheeva."  
  
The fighters make their way towards the front of the ring. Goro looks around for more people to fight. After a few minutes, he says, "I choose you!" and points to a very well-built man who looks like a wrestler.  
  
The wrestler jumps into the ring with tons of determination. He growls at Goro.  
  
Shang, who is sitting in his throne as usual, cries, "Begin!"  
  
The wrestler runs at Goro. Goro has both of his upper fists up. As soon as the wrestler was close to him, Goro takes his closed fists and smashes the wrestler's head right into his brain. Everyone turns around to avoid the gross sight.  
  
{I wonder who is going to actually win this?} thought Sonya.  
  
***  
  
Cody and Honda search the forest for any clues about their four missing friends Dan, Mika, Fei-Long, and Sub-Zero.  
  
"I hope they're alive," said Honda. "It actually wouldn't be the same without Dan."  
  
Cody shrugs. "It's been said before........you can't live with them, and you can't live without them."  
  
"That's true," the sumo wrestler said.  
  
The two continue walking through the woods.  
  
"I wonder what it was that kept them missing?" Honda asked out loud.  
  
Cody looks at him. "I could actually imagine Dan getting himself lost, poor Mika. For Fei-Long and Sub-Zero to get lost, that's hard to believe, especially since Sub-Zero knows the area pretty well."  
  
"Speaking of Sub-Zero," Honda said. "I wonder what his real name is."  
  
"Beats me. Kitana told me that Lin Kuei ninjas are all a mystery. They're supposed to be assassins, killing whoever the leader tells them to kill. Sub-Zero only joined because he was vengeance for his brother. He said he was leaving Lin Kuei after he kills Shang."  
  
"Shang, he's another mystery," Honda said. "Guile said that they found him speaking with Shao Kahn. I wonder what that's all about."  
  
"Once again, beats me."  
  
Suddenly they hear a rattle in the woods. The two stop in their tracks and look around. After a while, Cody shrugs. "Must be a fox or something."  
  
"No way," Honda said, his dark eyes narrowed.  
  
Cody notices this. "What's wrong."  
  
Honda looks around. "I sense an evil ki. Definitely not from around here." He turns his head to Cody. "He's not far either."  
  
Cody laughs a little. "Maybe it's your imagination."  
  
They felt a presence just above their heads. They look up and see a man in a yellow Lin Kuei uniform somersault over their heads. Cody and Honda jump out of the way still keeping their eyes on the man. The man lands on his feet and stares at Cody and Honda with his white eyes.  
  
"I know him," Honda said getting into his fighting stance. "This is Scorpion, a once powerful Lin Kuei assassin, until he was killed by the first Sub-Zero."  
  
Cody looks at Honda in confusion. "Sub-Zero?"  
  
Honda continues. "The Sub-Zero we know now, he told me that his ancestors have passed down the Lin Kuei tradition from generation to generation. The first Sub-Zero killed Scorpion and is willing to kill him and anyone who stands in his way."  
  
Cody gets into his fighting stance. From what Honda describes, he definitely knows that there is going to be a fight coming up.  
  
***  
  
Everyone looks as the dead wrestler is taken out of the ring and onto a cart. Goro begins looking for another fighter. Everyone crosses their fingers, hoping that they aren't next.  
  
After a few long minutes, Goro looks in the direction of where the good fighters are. He looks at each and every one of them slowly, sending chills down everyone's spines.  
  
Finally, Goro straightens himself up and cries, "I choose you!" He points at a fighter.  
  
Guy.  
  
Kitana looks at Guy. "You don't have to go through with this."  
  
Guy looks at the beautiful woman. "I've fought guys who are bigger than him. I'm pretty sure that I can defeat him. Besides, I haven't fought since my last fight with Sub-Zero."  
  
Kitana nods. "I've always known that you were very brave."  
  
Kitana leans up to Guy and presses her lips against his. Guy returns the kiss. For a minute, they share a long passionate kiss like it was going to be their last kiss.  
  
Guy pulls back a little and looks into Kitana's dark eyes. "I'll try to be back here in a few minutes," he said.  
  
Kitana takes his hands. "Please be back."  
  
Guy puts one of his hands on her face. He kisses her forehead and then brushes a strand of hair away from her face. Then, Guy lets go of her hand and puts both arms on his side. Then, he begins to make his way into the ring.  
  
Guy stays about five feet away from Goro. Goro is cracking his knuckles as Guy gets ready. He tightens his gloves and gets into a fighting stance.  
  
{Let the fight begin,} he thought.  
  
***  
  
Cody and Honda stand in their fighting stances and stare at their opponent Scorpion.  
  
Cody looks at Honda. "Are you ready for this fight?"  
  
Honda smirks. "You bet!"  
  
Suddenly, Scorpion disappears and then reappears behind Cody and Honda. They both sense his presence behind them and quickly turn around. Scorpion performs a roundhouse kick hitting Honda on his side. Cody delivers an uppercut at his face, but Scorpion dodges out of the way. Honda then kicks Scorpion in the gut making him lose his balance.  
  
Scorpion gets himself back up quickly and starts throwing series of punches at the both of them. Cody and Honda block each and every one of them.  
  
Cody smiles at Scorpion. "You know, it's two against one."  
  
Scorpion jumps back a little and puts his hand out. Suddenly, a symbiatic harpoon (A/N: that's what they really are, not silver snakes. Thank you Kei for pointing this out.) comes out and digs into Cody's chest.  
  
"Cody!!" Honda cried. Scorpion pulls Cody over.  
  
"GET OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Scorpion cries out before throwing an uppercut punch at Cody. Cody flies a few feet back with blood gushing out of him.  
  
Honda runs up to Cody. "You okay?"  
  
Cody sits up. "I'm all right. He obviously didn't get any of my major organs."  
  
"That's good, but you're bleeding."  
  
Cody stands up. "I'll be fine."  
  
Suddenly, Scorpion performs a hard blow to Honda's head. Honda falls to the ground unconscious.  
  
"Honda!" Cody cried. Before he could do anything, Scorpion starts throwing series of punches at Cody.  
  
Despite the loss of blood, Cody manages to spin his arm around once creating a tornado. Scorpion falls back, but manages to get back up.  
  
"What does it take to at least make you go away?" Cody asked. Scorpion starts throwing punches again. Cody blocks most of them, but the loss of blood is now starting to make him dizzy. Scorpion walks forward as Cody walks backwards.  
  
They were getting closer to a cliff. Below is the ocean three hundred feet down.  
  
Cody does not realize what is behind him until he felt a breeze on his feet. He quickly turns around and sees the cliff just a few feet away. He stops himself from walking and takes the punches from Scorpion.  
  
Now Cody was getting weaker from the loss of blood, making him go down on his knees.  
  
{I can't let him win} Cody thought. {I've got to get away from here. He'll definitely throw me off the cliff if I don't.}  
  
Then, Scorpion takes him by the neck and holds him up. He dangles him over the edge of the cliff.  
  
Honda begins to wake up from the blow he received. He picks himself up with a tree to guide him.  
  
Honda looks over where Cody and Scorpion are. Scorpion was hanging Cody over a cliff.  
  
"Cody!!" Honda cried. "Hang on!" He starts to run over to him.  
  
When Honda was only ten feet away, Scorpion lets go.......sending Cody down to the ocean. Cody's piercing scream was heard until a splash was heard.  
  
"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Honda cried out. "CODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Scorpion suddenly turns around and stares at Honda with his white eyes.  
  
Honda looks at Scorpion with anger. Not only was Cody now dead, but he knew now that he was fighting this demon on his own.  
  
***  
  
Guy looks at Goro with determination. He hopes to get back to his friends and defeat him.  
  
Shang stands up. "Begin!"  
  
Goro makes the first move, taking one giant step forward towards Guy. Guy ducks down and rolls out of the way. He gets himself back up, but Goro was a foot away.  
  
{I guess that's what happens when you're really tall} the Bushin ninja thought. He jumps in the air and throws a hard kick at Goro's face. Goro blocks the move. Guy lands back on the ground and slides his body to trip Goro, but Goro jumps up, ready to step on him with his heavy weight.  
  
Guy sees this and rolls out of the way. He quickly gets back up. Goro turns around and growls.  
  
Guy jumps up and attempts a few kicks at Goro, but of course, Goro blocks all of the kicks.  
  
In the audience, Guile watches the fight nervously. {The monster is 2,000 years old} he thought. {He obviously has more experience than most people.}  
  
Chun-Li stands next to Ryu as she watches the fight. {Every time Guy throws a move, Goro blocks it like it was nothing,} she thought. {Hopefully, Guy will find an opening that will throw him off.}  
  
Then, as soon as Guy could recover from the kicks he gave to Goro, Goro suddenly throws a hard punch at Guy's face. The blow was so hard that Guy could see sparkling colors everywhere.  
  
Then, Goro starts throwing hard punches at Guy, mainly in the stomach. Guy tries to block them, but the blow in his face threw him off pretty badly. Soon, he finds himself weak.  
  
{No!} Guy thought. {I have to win! I have to!}  
  
A blow in the stomach makes Guy spit out blood. Then, Goro delivers a blow to the head making Guy fall to the ground.  
  
Guy laid there, wondering what Goro is going to do next.  
  
Then, Goro takes his uppers hands and wraps them around Guy's neck. He picks him up and holds him high enough so the two would be face to face. He held Guy's ankles with his lowers hands. His arms were too long for Guy to reach over to deliver a blow to Goro's head.  
  
Guy knows now that he is going to die.  
  
As Goro slowly cuts his oxygen off, Guy looks over at his beloved Kitana. Kitana looks up at him. He could see the anger in her eyes.  
  
{I have to} Guy thought. He stretches his arm out towards her. Kitana sees the attempt and reaches for him. They are only close enough for their fingers to linger.  
  
"Ki......Kitana," Guy manages to say. He could feel Goro's grip tightening.  
  
For Guy, it was now or never.  
  
"I.......I love you."  
  
Then, all of his oxygen is cut off.  
  
Kitana looks at Guy feeling her heart race not only because he was dying, but because of his words.  
  
But before Kitana could say anything..........a bone breaking into two could be heard around the room.  
  
Goro has broken Guy's neck.  
  
"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Chun-Li cried. She throws her arms around Ryu and tightly closed her eyes. Ryu holds her close to him and stares at the ring.  
  
Guy's hand falls back to his side, leaving Kitana's hand. Goro holds him for another minute before tossing him to the side like he was only a rag doll.  
  
Shang stands up. "Goro wins!"  
  
Goro raises all four of his arms and cries in victory. Most of the people in the audience cheer on for him.  
  
The good fighters look at Guy's lifeless body and begin to mourn for him. The quiet scream could be heard as his soul is taken.  
  
Kitana bows her head. A single tear falls out of her eye.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
A/N: Please don't hurt me! *Guards herself* 


	21. Ch 20: Goro Vs Dan?

Chapter Twenty  
  
  
  
The big audience was cheering with excitement as the monstrous Goro raises his four arms in victory. Only one section of the audience did not cheer. Instead, they were mourning for the loss of a great warrior, someone Goro defeated by breaking his neck.  
  
Shang stands up. "The battles will continue when I return." He smirks and goes into a whisper. "I have some important business to take care of with my 'friends' back in my dungeon." He then walks out of the small arena.  
  
Everyone was screaming for more as the good fighters mourn for their friend Guy. Jax sighs. "Let's get out of here. Rest in peace Guy."  
  
Before anyone moved, they hear someone cry out, "OYAJI!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Chun-Li's head snaps up. "Is it me or is that Dan?"  
  
Suddenly, a figure flies into the ring, his foot out. The foot hits Goro in the head. The blow only makes Goro lose his balance. Everyone recognizes the figure's pink gi.  
  
"Never fear! Dan is here!" Dan cried out. Then Mika makes her way towards the ring.  
  
"Dan and Mika are alive?" asked Guile.  
  
Then, Jax reaches over to Dan and smacks him upside the head. "OW!! What was that for?"  
  
"You fool!" Jax cried with anger. "Where the hell have you two been? Don't you even know what the hell is going on?"  
  
"It's a really long story!" Dan cried. "Mika and I got lost and....." That's when Dan notices Guy's lifeless body.  
  
"Guy!" Dan cried out running up to him. "Guy wake up!"  
  
"Dan, he's dead," said Ken.  
  
"No! He can't be!" Tears form in Dan's eyes.  
  
Then, Goro stands up just behind Dan.  
  
"DAN!!" Mika cried. "Behind you!"  
  
Dan turns around to see Goro. He straightens himself up while the tears go away. "Um, hi, my name is Dan Hibiki." He shows a goofy smile.  
  
"Um, Dan," said Sonya. "This is Goro."  
  
"Hi, Goro, please to make your......." Then Dan realizes who Goro is. "THE Goro!!"  
  
"YES!!" the fighters cried out.  
  
Goro smirks down at Dan. "I'm supposed to wait until Shang comes back, but you know what.......I want to fight you right now."  
  
"Um, I would, but you see, my girlfriend Mika and I just returned after days of searching for this guy and stuff and.........."  
  
Then Goro screams out a battle cry. Dan sweat drops.  
  
"Oh great," said Ken. "Looks like Dan's going to be the next to die."  
  
"Did he say that Mika is his girlfriend?" asked Ryu.  
  
"Dan!" Mika cried. Jax and Guile pull her behind the ring to safety.  
  
Goro starts chasing Dan around the ring. "Help!" Dan cried.  
  
Goro then steps right in front of him. "You fight me now!" he cried. He raises his upper arm and throws a punch at Dan.  
  
Dan ducks down and covers his head with his arms. "Mommy!" he cried.  
  
Goro laughs. "What's wrong? Are you too chicken to fight?"  
  
Dan stands up and gets into his fighting stance. "I'm no chicken! I'm Dan Hibiki! Let's fight."  
  
The two stare at each other for a minute before Goro throws a fast punch at Dan. Dan ends up taking the blow at his head making him lose his balance. As he falls to the ground, Goro jumps up in the air and lands hard on Dan. Dan cries in pain.  
  
As soon as that happens, all of the good fighters start cheering on for Dan, even though the truth was that Dan is not going to make it out of the ring alive.  
  
Dan looks up at Goro who stands over him. "Get up and fight me!" Goro cried. He kicks Dan in the gut sending him flying to the other side of the ring. Dan coughs up some blood.  
  
"Come on Dan!" Mika cried. "Don't lose this fight!"  
  
Guile sighs. He's a goner. If Guy didn't make it out, I highly doubt that Dan would.  
  
Goro then attempts to jump on Dan again, but Dan is more alert now and rolls out of the way. He slowly gets up holding on to his stomach.  
  
Then, Goro runs over to Dan and throws series of punches at Dan with all four of his arms. Dan only manages to block maybe three of the punches. Then Goro delivers one hard punch at Dan's face sending him flying back down to the ground.  
  
Goro laughs looking at Dan. "You really think that you can beat me?" Then he reaches over to him.  
  
Then, he freezes.  
  
Dan looks around. "What the..........."  
  
Everyone who are in the ring is frozen in place.  
  
"Sub-Zero's not even here!" Dan cried. "If it's not him, then who is doing this?"  
  
"Dan!" a voice yelled out. Dan looks around. Then, in the middle of the ring, he spots Nightwolf.  
  
"Nightwolf?" Dan asked.  
  
"You've seemed to have forgotten why you've came to me in the first place. You came to me to seek better strength. It is your clumsiness, which has made you weak. Remember; do not let that get in the way. That is the way of developing your own strength."  
  
Then he disappears.  
  
Goro starts reaching for him again. Dan rolls out of the way. Then, he remembers something Nightwolf said before they left......  
  
"Remember, your will to be strong is in your heart."  
  
Dan smirks. "Thanks for everything Nightwolf. I'll do my best to beat Goro."  
  
Then, Goro lunges at Dan again throw more punches at him. Dan tries his best to block them. I'm thinking about my clumsiness again. That was how I overcame my weakness. If I clear my mind and fully concentrate, I can probably beat him.  
  
Dan bends down and lifts up his fist.  
  
"Sho-ryu-ken!!!" Dan cried out. He manages to pass his arms and hit him square in the jaw. They both fly about ten feet in the air.  
  
"What the......" Ken said.  
  
"He's never gone that high before!" cried Rolento.  
  
"Looks like visiting Nightwolf was worth it," said Ryu.  
  
Dan lands back on the ground on his feet. Goro lands back down hard on his side. A bone breaking was heard. Goro growls in pain.  
  
"Whoa!" Guile cried. "Sounds like he broke one of his arms!"  
  
"Are you sure that's Dan?" asked Chun-Li.  
  
As Goro gets up, Dan starts throwing series of punches at him. Goro blocks most of them, but some of them manage to land on his stomach and chest. Then, Dan throws a punch at Goro that sends him flying backwards.  
  
"You know," said Jax. "Shang does have the ability to shape-shift. That could be him right now."  
  
"No!" Mika cried. "I was with him the whole time. Trust me, that's Dan Hibiki."  
  
"Then what's with the new strength?" asked Guile. "No one develops something like that overnight."  
  
As Goro slowly gets up, Dan cups his hands and brings them to his side. A ball of energy starts to develop in between his hands.  
  
Goro stands up straight. His upper right arm, which is broken, dangles lightly. He lifts up his lower arms, just enough to rise over Dan's head. "Now you die!"  
  
Dan smirks. Guy, this is for you.  
  
"GADOUKEN!!!" Dan cried out. A ball of energy five times its regular size flies out of his hands. In lightning speed, the energy hits Goro. The impact makes the room so bright that everyone had to shield their eyes with their arms.  
  
When the light disappears, Dan is standing in the middle of the ring in his fighting stance. Goro is down on the ground groaning in pain.  
  
"I think this would be the point when you finish him off," said Sonya.  
  
"All right," Dan said.  
  
"Wait!" cried a voice. A figure walks into the ring.  
  
"Kitana?" Dan asked.  
  
"Please," Kitana said. "Let me finish him off." She takes out her fan blades.  
  
Dan steps aside.  
  
"I still think that's Shang," said Jax.  
  
Mika growls. "He's not Shang, trust me."  
  
Kitana walks up to Goro.  
  
"With blades like those, I'd grab a towel if I were you," said Rolento.  
  
(A/N: This next scene is very gory. I have a double star point at the part where it all ends if anyone is not comfortable reading this next scene.)  
  
Kitana takes her blades and chops off all of Goro's four arms. Goro cries in pain as the blood gushes everywhere.  
  
"That is for killing all of your fighters!"  
  
Then she chops off all both of his legs.  
  
"That is for working with Outworld!"  
  
Then, every man in the audience cry in pain as she chops off his 'personal spot.' As it flies away, it hits Goro on his forehead.  
  
"AND THAT IS FOR KILLING THE MAN I LOVE YOU DICKHEAD!!!"  
  
Then, she chops him right through his stomach. Goro growls in pain lightly. Then, he closes his eyes as his death approaches him.  
  
**Kitana stares at the mess she made for a minute. The entire arena was silent in disbelief and shock. She looks over at the opposite end of the ring where Guy lays.  
  
She drops her fan blades and runs over to Guy. She bends down to him as tears steam her face. "I know that your soul is taken. I will not rest until you are safe from Shang's hands."  
  
Everyone sadly watches as Kitana sits by Guy. Jax looks over at Dan who is puking his brains out from the sight of Goro's remains. How did he do that? he thought.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
I know some of you are probably mad at me for making Dan be the one to beat Goro, but to me, I think that was a perfect tie for his meeting with Nightwolf, which is why I chose him to do the job in beating him. I let Kitana kill Goro because I felt that was better than Dan doing the job. I admit to have been a bite lazy when I wrote this chapter. Please don't flame me for this! By the way, there are only eight more chapters left in this fic so now the real action begins starting with the next chapter. 


	22. Ch 21: The Final Decision

Chapter Twenty-One  
  
Honda looks at his opponent Scorpion. Just a few moments ago, Scorpion threw Cody off the cliff sending him down to his death. Now Honda is filled with rage.   
  
"You bastard!" he cried. "You won't get away with what you did to Cody! What did you do with the others?"  
  
Scorpion only stares at him, his white eyes narrowed. Honda gets into his fighting stance, also narrowing his eyes at Scorpion. The two stare at each other for a minute. The winds blow hard making the dark clouds above more in high speed.  
  
Then, Scorpion quickly puts his arm out. His symbiatic harpoon flies towards Honda. Honda jumps behind a tree. The harpoon hits the tree leaving a big mark on it.  
  
Scorpion runs after Honda. Honda puts his arms out. Scorpion jumps about a foot in the air and performs a roundhouse kick at Honda. Honda blocks the move and throws a punch at Scorpion. Scorpion blocks the move. The two start throwing series of punches at each other. At one moment, Scorpion could be playing offense and Honda playing defense, or it could be the other way around.  
  
Then, Scorpion finds an opening and manages to kick Honda in the gut. Honda has the wind knocked out of him, but he manages to block Scorpion's incoming punch.  
  
The two are pretty close to the edge of the cliff. Both of them are fully aware of the cliff and try to back away. They can hear a storm starting up in the distance.  
  
The fight looks like it would end in a draw. Of course, it was the fight to the death. No matter what, only one of these warriors will make it out alive.  
  
Honda then manages to duck down and trip Scorpion. Scorpion falls to the ground. Scorpion then quickly gets up and throws more punches and kicks at Honda. Honda attempts to block every one of them. Then, he finds himself very close to the edge.  
  
{I've got to do something} Honda thought. {I've got to win for Cody.}  
  
Then, Honda performs his hundred-hand slaps. Scorpion is unable to block the speed of the slaps and is hit multiple times in a row. Honda performs the last of the slap sending Scorpion flying backwards. Scorpion crashes into a tree.  
  
Honda runs after him. Scorpion stands up quickly........and takes off his mask.  
  
Honda stops himself and his mouth drops open. Scorpion reveals his grinning skull.  
  
"This is bad," Honda thought out loud.  
  
Scorpion lets out a line of fire out of his mouth. Honda ducks out of the way. The fire lights up a tree.  
  
Honda runs up to Scorpion and starts throwing more kicks and punches at him. Scorpion blocks them all of course. The tree nearby them burns quickly. Then, it starts to fall.......right towards them.  
  
Honda looks up. "Timber!" he cried out. He runs out of the way for safety. Then he hears the tree crash down to the ground.  
  
Honda looks around still in his fighting stance. Scorpion is nowhere to be seen.  
  
"The tree must've killed him," Honda said. Then he remembers something about Scorpion. "Wait a minute, isn't he already dead?"  
  
Suddenly, a figure, burning with fire, jumps up in the air. Honda could see that it is Scorpion.  
  
"Whoa!" Honda cried, his eyes widened. "Looks like there is only one thing left to do."  
  
As Scorpion lands on the ground, Honda jumps in the air and darts his body at Scorpion headfirst. He hits Scorpion in the gut, which isn't ignited with any flames. They fly across until they are near the cliff. Honda gets back down on the ground. He watches as Scorpion flies over the edge and falls three hundred feet down to the ocean. Honda hears the splash down below.  
  
Honda looks up. "He was definitely dead to begin with. I better get back to the camp before he jumps back up here. At least I have some sort of idea about what happened to Dan, Mika, Fei-Long, and Sub-Zero." Honda starts running through the woods.  
  
***  
  
"We're going to have to do something about all of this," said Sonya. "I'm sick of watching our friends die and have their souls taken in this tournament!"  
  
The fighters are back at the cave at one o'clock in the morning. Guy's death was already tragic enough, but there are still matters to deal with.  
  
"She's right," said Jax. "We can't just sit here anymore. We didn't come here just to watch our friends die. We came here to investigate and destroy The Outworld." He looks at Dan. "What happened to you guys?"  
  
"Mika and I were lost in the woods for a few days," Dan replied. "I got sick too and we met this wizard and he helped me feel better. Then we met Nightwolf and tried to go back, but when we got back to the wizard's hut, he gave us this potion that made us pass out. Fei-Long and Sub-Zero met up with us there."  
  
"Do you know where they are now?" asked Chun-Li.  
  
"It turns out that Shang shape-shifted into the wizard," said Mika. "Shang took the four of us to his dungeon. The four of us try to escape, but the guards captured Fei-Long and Sub-Zero, so Dan and I managed to make it out."  
  
"So now the guess is that they are either dead or alive," said Ken.  
  
"So Shang has been responsible for taking the souls," Rolento said.  
  
Everyone nods.  
  
"Like we've said before," Jax continued. "We can't just sit here anymore. I think it's time that we go in after Outworld. If we keep going with the tournament, little, or none of us, will make it out alive."  
  
That's when they hear someone come out of the woods fast. Everyone sees Honda jump out of the bushes. He stops in front of the group and falls to the ground gasping for air.  
  
"Honda!" cried Dan. "Where were you?"  
  
Honda's eyes become wide. "Dan? Mika? You're alive! It's good to see the two of you again."  
  
"Honda," said Sonya. "I'm terrified to ask, but where's Cody?"  
  
Honda bows his head. "We went up against Scorpion and he threw Cody off a high cliff. I tried to save him, but he was too far for me to reach."  
  
"Wait," said Jax. "Are you saying that Scorpion killed him?"  
  
Honda nods.  
  
"You know, Scorpion is neutral. He has nothing to do with Outworld."  
  
"So his soul is in peace?" asked Liu.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Funny," said Chun-Li. "Two best friends die on the same night."  
  
Everyone bows their heads.  
  
Kitana stands up which makes the group overcome with silence. "My heart has been broken because of what Goro did to Guy. I know he just died tonight, but I am not willing to let that get in the way, just like how the others died. I am willing to be strong for him. We are going to destroy Outworld and even make sure that Fei-Long and Sub-Zero make it out alive."  
  
"Kitana," said Liu. "You have a strong will and heart."  
  
"When you live for ten thousand years, you learn so much."  
  
"So what do we do now?" asked Cammy.  
  
Jax looks at Mika. "Do you guys remember where exactly Shang's Dungeon is?"  
  
"It's about four miles away," Mika replied. "The place is like a maze, Dan and I didn't even know where the exit was for a while."  
  
"We shall go there," Jax said. "For Dee Jay, Johnny, Dhalsim, Rose, Cody, Guy, and even Sakura who made it out alive, we will use every power we possess, every strength we have, and basically everything we have, we will destroy Shao Kahn and the Outworld......tonight!" He puts a fist out. "We, as Street Fighters and warriors of Mortal Kombat will rise."  
  
One by one, everyone puts their fist out, one over the other.  
  
"We will destroy them!" Jax cried.  
  
"Destroy them!" everyone cried raising their fists high in the air.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Another short chapter, but whatever I kind of did that on purpose. So as you can see, the next chapter starts the real action of the fight against Outworld. Just a reminder, there are only seven more chapters left! 


	23. Ch 22: Fighting Shang Tsung Part One

Chapter Twenty-Two  
  
  
  
  
  
There is silence in the dungeon. Fei-Long and Sub-Zero are trying their best to sleep, but the hard, sticky floor wouldn't allow them to fall into a good slumber.  
  
"Sub-Zero," Fei-Long finally said.  
  
Sub-Zero turns to him. "Yes?"  
  
"Do you think Dan and Mika made it out?"  
  
"I hope so," Sub-Zero replied. "I mean, they did get themselves lost when they went looking for Nightwolf. The cave isn't too far from here."  
  
"They're lost," Fei-Long concluded.  
  
They try to sleep again, but again, they couldn't.  
  
That's when they heard the dungeon door open. Fei-Long and Sub-Zero look up and see four guards standing over them.  
  
"You two!" one guard said. "Get up! It's time for you to see Shang."  
  
"What does he want?" Fei-Long asked.  
  
"Get up!" the guard said. He looks at Sub-Zero. "You think that we're just going to let you out or something?" He points a sword at him.  
  
Sub-Zero laughs. He puts his hands out and freezes all four guards.  
  
"Dumb-a**es," Sub-Zero said. "They had no idea what I am capable of."  
  
The two men get up and quietly walk out of their dungeon. They look at either side of the hall. Both sides are long and dark.  
  
"Which way do we go?" Fei-Long asked.  
  
Sub-Zero points to the right. "I remember this is the way we went when they let us out for dinner."  
  
They walk through the darkness of the hall.  
  
"At least they should put a light on," Fei-Long said.  
  
That's when three flames are lit. Three guards stand in front of them.  
  
"Is that better?" one of the guards asked.  
  
Sub-Zero and Fei-Long get into their fighting stances as the three guards run after them. Two guards go after Sub-Zero and one guard goes after Fei- Long.  
  
The guard fighting Fei-Long swings his torch at him. Fei-Long dodges them. Then, Fei-Long ducks and jumps up in the air, his foot pointing up.  
  
"WAAA-CCHHHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!" Fei-Long cried out. His leg is ignited with flames as his hits the guard square in the jaw. The guard flies in the air and lands hard on the ground knocking him out.  
  
Sub-Zero is fighting the other two guards. He throws series of kicks and punches at the guards. Fei-Long joins in and punches one of the guards in the head knocking him out. Sub-Zero fights the remaining guard. Sub-Zero jumps in the air and performs a roundhouse kick at the guard's head. The guard falls to the ground and becomes unconscious.  
  
"No freezing them?" Fei-Long asked.  
  
Sub-Zero smirks. "Nah, I wouldn't be called a warrior if I did the same move over and over. That would be cheap as well."  
  
"Right," Fei-Long replied. "Let's try to get out of here."  
  
Sub-Zero nods. He picks up a lit torch and the two warriors make their way down the hall.  
  
When they get to the end of the hall, they see three doors in front of them. Two of them are to the side and one was right in front of them.  
  
"It's time to play, Pick-And-Chose," Fei-Long said sarcastically. "Will it be door number one, door number two, or door number three?"  
  
Sub-Zero looks at each door. With the middle door, Sub-Zero could sense something disturbing.  
  
"Fei-Long," Sub-Zero said. "I have a gut feeling about the middle door."  
  
"An escape route?" Fei-Long asked.  
  
"No.........something else."  
  
Sub-Zero goes up to the middle door and opens it up. A white light hits their eyes making them shield them with their arms.  
  
"Shall we?" Sub-Zero asked.  
  
Fei-Long nods.  
  
The warriors walk into the room. They open their eyes. They find themselves in a big balcony with no guards. The room is huge, the ceiling having to be about 200 feet high. The ceiling looks like it is making a round dome. At the bottom, it looks like a big fighting ring, the floor looking like a compass. What is more noticeable about the big room disturbs Sub-Zero and Fei-Long; there is a machine, which shoots up a very tall green energy. They could see faces on the energy........faces of those whose souls have been taken by Shang.  
  
"This must be where the souls are stored," Sub-Zero concluded. "I wonder how you free them." He starts walking towards the stairs, which are on either side of the balcony.  
  
"Sub-Zero, what are you doing?" Fei-Long called out. "We've got to get out of here!"  
  
Sub-Zero narrows his eyes at Fei-Long. "My friend, I've come to this tournament for one reason, and one reason only. I came here to kill Shang and free my brother. He is responsible for killing my brother and taking his soul. Along with everyone else, my brother will be free."  
  
As he talks, Sub-Zero notices a tall shadow approaching behind Fei-Long. Sub-Zero stares at the figure. The figure looks as if he was slowly approaching Fei-Long and getting ready to attack.  
  
Fei-Long notices the disturbing look on Sub-Zero's face. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
Sub-Zero clenches his teeth and gets into a fighting stance. "Behind you."  
  
Fei-Long quickly turns around. The figure performs a roundhouse kick. Fei- Long blocks the move, and then performs a few backward flips towards Sub- Zero. Then he gets into a fighting stance.  
  
The figure steps into the light, revealing who this person is.  
  
Sub-Zero and Fei-Long lower their guards a little bit and their eyes become wide. Their hearts overcome with fear just a little bit.  
  
"Shang Tsung," Sub-Zero said.  
  
Shang looks at the warriors and laughs. "You think that you can escape here, do you?"  
  
"If Dan and Mika can, so will we!" cried Fei-Long.  
  
"Oh," Shang said. "So they've escaped. Well, I was at the tournament when they escaped, so they were lucky," he gets into a fighting stance. "But you two aren't so lucky. I guarantee the two you that you will not make it out of here alive. You will fight me and die, and you will be joining your friends," he looks at Sub-Zero. "And your brother."  
  
The two good fighters raise their guards. Sub-Zero becomes full of rage just thinking about what he did to his brother. Sub-Zero will never forget how Shang took his brother by the neck and breaking it. He could hear the breaking of the bone play in his head.  
  
"You'll pay!" Sub-Zero cried out. He leaps towards him with Fei-Long running behind him. Shang jumps out of the way. Fei-Long runs up to him and starts throwing series of kung-fu punches at him. Shang blocks them all. Then he jumps back and shape-shifts into Sagat.  
  
"You're kidding me, right?" Fei-Long asked.  
  
"Tiger!" Shang cried out. A ball of energy comes out of his hands and hits Fei-Long on his side. Fei-Long jumps back and growls in pain. Then, Shang jumps towards him, his knee pointing towards him. The knee hits him in the gut. Fei-Long spits out some blood and groans in pain.  
  
Sub-Zero runs towards Shang. Shang shape-shifts into Reptile. He throws another series of punches at Shang. Then, he spits a glob of acid at Sub- Zero. Sub-Zero dodges out of the way.  
  
As Fei-Long runs after him, Shang then shape-shifts into Jade and starts darting his stick at Fei-Long. Fei-Long dodges them. Then, one jab hits Fei-Long in the chest causing him to pull back to catch his breath.  
  
Sub-Zero goes after Shang again. Shang sees this and shape-shifts into Johnny. He puts his foot outward. He slides towards Sub-Zero with green shadows following him. Sub-Zero dodges out of the way from the moves and performs a kick at his back. Shang turns around and kicks Sub-Zero in the gut. Sub-Zero pulls back.  
  
Fei-Long recovers from his last blow and goes after him again. Shang shape- shifts into Vega.  
  
"Crap!" Fei-Long cried out seeing the long claws.  
  
Shang aims his claws at Fei-Long. Fei-Long dodges out of the way. The claw manages to scratch Fei-Long's upper arm.  
  
Sub-Zero comes from behind and kicks Shang in the hand knocking the claws off. Shang turns around and shape-shifts into Rayden. Shang puts his hands out. As Sub-Zero runs towards him, he suddenly finds his feet frozen in place.  
  
"What the....." Sub-Zero said as his whole body becomes paralyzed. {What's happening to me?}  
  
Shang then shape-shifts into Baraka. He pulls out his long claw.  
  
{No!}  
  
Fei-Long looks up and sees Shang walking up to Sub-Zero. {Sub-Zero?} he thought. He watches in horror as Shang takes the claw, looks at Sub-Zero's eyes, and quickly stabs him right through the stomach. Fei-Long gasps.  
  
"NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Six more chapters to go. 


	24. Ch 23: Fighting Shang Tsung Part Two

Chapter Twenty-Three  
  
  
  
"We're going to have to split up," said Rayden.  
  
Everyone looks at him. "Split up?" asked Guile with confusion.  
  
"Yes. One group will go to Shang, and the other will go to Shao. Shang is only one person and Shao does have a big army so only about three of us will go to Shang."  
  
"I'll go," said Kitana.  
  
"Me too," said Honda.  
  
"Great," Rayden replied.  
  
"Well," said Rolento. "Does anyone even know where Shao's Lair is?"  
  
"I do," said Ken. "Just follow me and we'll be fine."  
  
Rayden looks at everyone. "Good luck, my friends. I hope to see you all well and alive when we beat Shang."  
  
"We hope to see you three alive too," said Guile. "Go over there and turn Shang into a bloody pulp!"  
  
Rayden, Kitana, and Honda start making their way towards Shang's Lair, which was only a five-minute walk.  
  
"Let's go," said Jax. "We have a demon to destroy."  
  
***  
  
Fei-Long looks in horror as he looks at Sub-Zero. As Baraka, Shang has stabbed Sub-Zero right through the stomach.  
  
Sub-Zero looks at Shang, his blue eyes wide opened. Then, before he knew it, Shang quickly pulls the claw out of him and changes back into himself. Sub-Zero holds on to his stomach and quickly falls forward to the ground.  
  
"Sub-Zero!!" Fei-Long cried. He tries to run over to him, but then Shang steps in front of him.  
  
Fei-Long gets into a fighting stance and clenches his teeth. "You will pay for all the things that you've done!"  
  
Shang only laughs. "And you really think that you can beat me?"  
  
"Only fate can decide that," Fei-Long replied. "And I hope that fate knows the difference between right and wrong."  
  
"Very well. Let's see what it's like to fight someone similar to you." Shang then changes into........Fei-Long.  
  
Fei-Long's dark eyes become wide opened. He felt like he was looking at himself through a mirror, but deep inside, it was really Shang.  
  
Shang gets into a fighting stance. "Begin."  
  
Fei-Long immediately jumps in the air and performs a roundhouse kick. Shang quickly blocks the move. Fei-Long jumps back down to the ground. As he does, Shang throws a punch at Fei-Long's stomach. He ignores the pain in his stomach and throws kung-fu punches at Shang. Shang blocks them and kicks him on his side. Fei-Long pulls back to recover.  
  
"Fei-Long!" they suddenly hear someone cry out. Fei-Long looks over by the door and sees Rayden, Kitana, and Honda.  
  
"You guys made it!" Fei-Long cried.  
  
"Yes," said Guile. "And we definitely know that one of you is Shang. After all, Fei-Long doesn't have a twin brother or anything."  
  
"I am Fei-Long," Shang said. He points at Fei-Long. "He is Shang."  
  
"You lying son-of-a-b***h!!!" Fei-Long cried.  
  
"Well, one of you is lying," said Ken.  
  
"Sub-Zero!!" cried Kitana. She notices Sub-Zero lying down on the ground bleeding. She runs over to him.  
  
Sub-Zero looks up at her. "The wound is bad enough for me to stop fighting."  
  
"It'll be all right," Kitana replied. "Rest, we'll take care of Shang."  
  
Sub-Zero nods with a little sadness.  
  
Rayden looks at the very similar looking warriors. "Where are you from?"  
  
"Hong Kong, China," said Fei-Long.  
  
"Whom did you come here with?"  
  
"Chun-Li!" cried Shang.  
  
"And who else?"  
  
"Ryu and Ken," said Fei-Long.  
  
"What is your favorite color?"  
  
"Blue," Shang said.  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"Twenty-seven," Fei-Long replied.  
  
Rayden shakes his head from side to side. "Damn, this is bad!"  
  
"Then how can we tell who is the real Fei-Long?" asked Honda.  
  
For a minute, silence comes between everyone.  
  
Then, Fei-Long's eyes light up. "Wait! I know one thing which Shang wouldn't have." He reaches into his big pockets and pulls something out. He then holds the item out to show everyone.  
  
Kitana looks at the item in shock. "Johnny Cage's sunglasses!"  
  
"Yes," Fei-Long replied. "He gave them to me before Vega killed him."  
  
Everyone looks at the fake Fei-Long. Shang growls and changes back to himself. Suddenly, he grabs Fei-Long by the hair and throws him against the wall hard enough to knock him out.  
  
"Fei-Long!" cried Honda. He, Kitana, and Rayden get into their fighting stances as Shang begins to walk over to them.  
  
An evil laugh escapes Shang's lips. "You fools really think that you have a chance to beat me? That's where you are wrong."  
  
"You're the one who's doing wrong," said Honda. "You've taken so many innocent people's souls and kept them for what?"  
  
"To rule the universe," Shang said.  
  
"Shang, tonight it will all end," said Rayden.  
  
Shang laughs like Rayden's words were only a big joke to him. "I've taken so many souls for thousands of years, especially from those who dare to challenge me." He gets into a fighting stance. "Don't be surprised when you join them as well."  
  
"We won't," said Honda.  
  
Then, Shang jumps towards them, his left leg extended outward. Honda goes after him. As Shang falls back to the ground, Honda raises his arm up and hits Shang's leg. Shang goes back a little, but still manages to land safely on his feet. Then he transforms into Sindel. He opens his mouth and lets out an ear-piercing scream.  
  
The three of them cover their ears. The volume of the scream was so loud that it causes them to fall to their knees.  
  
Shang laughs and changes back to himself. "All of my powers come from the taken souls and those I've come in the same room with. You are all worthless, even with your powers combined."  
  
"That's what you think!" said Rayden. He puts both of his hands out in front of him. A bolt of lightning comes out of his hands. Shang sees this and dodges out of the way.  
  
Rayden looks at Kitana and Honda. "You two take care of Shang."  
  
"Why?" asked Honda.  
  
"There's something I must do, but I promise that I'll be back."  
  
"All right, Rayden," said Kitana. She and Honda get up and run towards Shang.  
  
Rayden sees Sub-Zero, walks over to him quickly, and bends over to him.  
  
Sub-Zero looks up at Rayden. His eyes are only half open and he was breathing heavily. "Rayden......I tried to....stop him...."  
  
"Quiet," Rayden said. He puts his hand over Sub-Zero's wounded stomach.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Doing something I wish that I could've done for everyone else. Sub-Zero, I promise you that you will get vengeance for your brother."  
  
Meanwhile, Kitana and Honda are fighting Shang. Kitana is throwing series of punches at Shang. Shang blocks all of them and manages to kick her out of the way by the stomach. Honda jumps in next and performs his hundred- hand slaps. Shang sees this and blocks the move.  
  
{How is that possible?} Honda thought to himself.  
  
Then, Shang changes into Liu and fires a fireball at Honda. Honda flies in the air and hits the wall hard enough to weaken him.  
  
"Honda!" cried Kitana. She looks at Shang and goes after him again.  
  
Sub-Zero watches Rayden's glowing hand. Sub-Zero winces a little bit as he feels his damaged organs going back to their original places.  
  
Not too far, Fei-Long begins to open his eyes. At first, all he could see is blur.  
  
{What happened?} he thought.  
  
Then, everything starts to become clearer. He sees Honda holding his head in pain. Then, he could hear fighting. He slowly turns his head and spots Kitana and Shang fighting. Shang was winning beating Kitana with multiple punches and kicks.  
  
Fei-Long's eyes become wide. {That bastard!}  
  
He slowly gets himself up. "I won't let you win!!"  
  
Despite feeling dizzy, Fei-Long manages to run towards Shang. Shang sees him and throws a hard punch at Fei-Long's face sending him flying to the side almost falling off the balcony.  
  
"Fei-Long!" cried Kitana. Unfortunately, the distraction gives Shang the opportunity to strike. He throws a hard kick to her stomach knocking the wind out of her and sending her to the ground.  
  
Shang laughs. "Like I said, you fools think that you could beat me. Now you will all die."  
  
Unfortunately, he has forgotten about Rayden.  
  
Rayden removes his hand from Sub-Zero's stomach. "I've healed you."  
  
Sub-Zero looks as his stomach. It looked as though he was never stabbed. "I can feel my powers coming back to me."  
  
Suddenly, the room turns a dark green.  
  
"What the......" Sub-Zero manages to say.  
  
Rayden stands up. "This isn't good. Even if we're alive, Shang will take out souls in this condition."  
  
Shang laughs loudly. "And now, your souls will be mine!!"  
  
Sub-Zero narrows his eyes. "I know I already said that doing the same move is cheap, but when desperate times come, it calls for it."  
  
He puts both of his hands out. A gust of wind was heard.  
  
Then, Shang becomes frozen becoming surrounded by cold, dry ice.  
  
Everyone looks at Sub-Zero in silence.  
  
Fei-Long scratches the back of his head. "Well, that was easy."  
  
"I know," Sub-Zero replied. "But he did need to be rid of right away."  
  
"One problem," said Honda. "Ice melts."  
  
"I can take care of that," Sub-Zero replied. He walks over Shang. He stares at the demon for a minute before pushing him over the balcony. "Oops," he said sarcastically.  
  
Shang falls towards the ring below. As soon as he crashes, ice, blood, and flesh shatter everywhere.  
  
Everyone stares down at what is left of Shang for a while. Then, Honda breaks the silence. "Let's get going."  
  
That's when the room suddenly turns blue.  
  
"What is that?" asked Fei-Long.  
  
They look over to where the souls are stored. The machine holding the souls becomes surrounded by electric shocks. Then, part of the ceiling opens. They watch as thousands of souls make their way out of the room and towards Heaven.  
  
"The souls are free!" cried Kitana.  
  
Everyone watches with smiles on their faces. They know now that the souls will finally rest in peace and live freely without being under the hands of Shang.  
  
After the last souls leaves, Fei-Long looks at Sub-Zero. "You're alive."  
  
"Yes, thanks to Rayden."  
  
"And if wasn't for your powers, we would all be dead," said Honda.  
  
Then, Rayden looks at the four fighters seriously. "The souls may be free now, but we still have Shao Kahn to beat."  
  
******************************************************************  
  
A little on the cheap side, but I was having a little trouble with this chapter, but I did my best. So, for those who thought Sub-Zero really did die, aren't you surprised now? *Grins* Well, only five more chapters to go. 


	25. Ch 24: The FaceOffs

(A/N: This is going to be a pretty short chapter. It's meant to be a short chapter so it's going to seem rushed, but it's really not.)  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-Four  
  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile in the woods, the others, Jax, Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Sonya, Guile, Liu, Rolento, Cammy, Dan, and Mika look around for Shao's Lair.  
  
"What if we never find it?" asked Dan panicking.  
  
"Calm down Dan," said Guile. "We'll find Shao. Besides, Ken, Ryu, Liu, and I know the way. We've been there before."  
  
"What for?" asked Mika.  
  
"Shao's goons kidnapped me," replied Chun-Li. "And the guys along with Rayden saved me before the Outworld army killed me for my soul."  
  
Everyone starts to hear Dan's teeth chattering against each other. They turn to him. As his teeth chatter, Dan bites his nails off.  
  
"Dan!" cried Jax. "Just remember.......................Nightwolf."  
  
Suddenly, Dan takes his hand out of his mouth, straightens himself out, and walks like a brave knight.  
  
Mika laughs a little and takes Dan's hands. "You're so funny, Dan."  
  
"We're almost there," said Ken.  
  
"All right everyone," said Sonya. "Stay quiet. We want to surprise them."  
  
Everyone nods in agreement and walk the next two minutes in silence.  
  
They step out of the woods and see a cliff. In the middle of the cliff there is a big hole.  
  
"This is it," whispered Liu.  
  
Chun-Li looks at Ryu and takes his hand into her's. "Are you ready for this?"  
  
Ryu nods and smirks at her. "You bet I am."  
  
They lean towards each other to share a brief kiss. Just before their lips touch, they jump with fright when they hear someone cry, "Welcome to my lair!"  
  
Everyone turns up to see Shao Kahn and his army of commanders and mutants standing by the hole on the cliff.  
  
They get into their fighting stances. "This is it Shao," said Jax. "This ends today!"  
  
"I don't think so," Shao said. He and his army jump down the cliff and land on the ground about twenty yards away from the good warriors. Everyone looks at their commanders; Mileena, Kitana's clone, Baraka, the mutant with two claws, Sheeva, the Shokan, Vega, the Spanish Matador, Kano, the drug smuggler, Motaro, the half-human, half-horse, Sagat, the former Muay-Thai Champion, and Sindel, the former Queen of Edenia.  
  
Then, Jax notices a red robot. "Sektor? I thought he was part of Lin Kuei."  
  
"I kidnapped him," Shao said. "He's been a pretty good commander of mine so far. I will give you two choices. You can give up and join my army. Your souls will be spared just as long as you serve me and not disobey me. If not, I will have my warriors come after you and kill you. Then your souls will be mine!"  
  
"Go ahead!" cried Rolento spinning his baton. "Bring your little army over here!"  
  
"Yeah," said Chun-Li. "If we can beat me once, we can beat them again!"  
  
Shao grows a little angry. "Fine. You choose death over life, so be it!" He points at the good warriors. "ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
The skinny, decaying monsters start running after them. Everyone runs towards them and begin fighting them off.  
  
Unfortunately for Shao, fighting these monsters will almost be like fighting the skeleton monsters from 'The Mummy.'  
  
Dan and Mika help each other fight the monsters. Mika performs her wrestling moves, crushing them to death. Dan uses his Saikyo moves to fight them off.  
  
"GADOUKEN!" Dan cried out. The energy only goes a few meters, but the monsters were close enough to be hit by it. Five monsters break into pieces and fall to the ground.  
  
"It's easy!" Dan cried. "Just kick them and they're dead!"  
  
Mika grabs one monster by the neck. She flips herself over. "Take that!" she cried out. She crushes the monster and about two others under her.  
  
"Cannon spike!!" Cammy cried out. She puts one leg out and jumps in the air taking two monsters with her. The monsters fall back to the ground breaking into pieces. Then, she takes one monster's neck, does a handstand on its shoulders, and twists her body, twisting the neck right off. Cammy safely lands back on the ground.  
  
Rolento spins his baton around easily knocking the monsters down. "You guys can't take my baton, can't you?" he asked with a laugh. Then, he crouches down and rolls backwards. Then, he jumps in the air and slams his baton down hitting six monsters. "Got you guys now!"  
  
"HI-YAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!" cried Liu. He throws a few punches making the monsters break. Then, he jumps up, puts his legs out, and performs his bicycle kick knocking down ten monsters in a row.  
  
"SONIC BOOM!!!!!!!" Guile cried out. With his energy, he knocks down twenty monsters. Then, some go after him. He crouches down and then jumps back up with a fast somersault. When he lands back down, he grabs one monster by the shoulders, bends backwards taking the monster over his head, and slams it hard on the ground breaking the monster into pieces.  
  
Sonya wraps her legs around one monster, and then flips herself over, smashing the monster on the ground. The other monsters go after her. Sonya quickly gets up and performs a roundhouse kick in a 360 turn. Then, she puts her hands out. A purple energy comes out of her hands knocking down most of the monsters around her.  
  
"Sho-ryu-ken!!!!!!" Ken cried out. He jumps in the air taking three monsters with him. His arm turns into flames burning the monsters into ashes. He lands back down on the ground. The monsters surround him. He jumps in the air. "Tatsumaki-Senpuukyaku!!!!!!!" Ken cried out. He spins around like a hurricane knocking down many of the monsters around him.  
  
"Luckly, I still have my right metal arm," said Jax. He bends down to the ground and punches it. The ground shakes like an earthquake making the monsters lose their balance. As they land on the ground, they break. Jax stands up and punch the remaining monsters around him, one by one. He finishes off with a hard kick to the last monster by him.  
  
"Spinning bird kick!!!!!" Chun-Li cried out. She turns upside down, puts both of her legs out, one in front and one in back, and spins around rapidly knocking the monsters out. As she turns back right side up, one monster jumps from behind her and wraps itself around her.  
  
"Get off me!" she cried. She delivers a back blow to the monster's face. The monster's head breaks off and it lets go of her. "Kikoken!" she cried. A ball of energy comes out of her hands knocking most of the monsters down.  
  
"Hadouken!" Ryu cried out. A ball of energy comes out of his hands knocking the monsters down. Some monsters run towards him. Ryu punches and kicks each monster. Finally, with the remaining monsters, Ryu jumps in the air. He performs the super combo version of the Tatsumaki Senppukyaku (A/N: I forgot the name of it, I was at school when I wrote this.) rapidly hitting the monsters until all of them are knocked out.  
  
When Ryu lands back on the ground, all of the monsters were knocked down.  
  
Sonya looks up at Shao. "Ha! Your monsters are a bit fragile, aren't they?"  
  
Shao only laughs. "That was only for warming up for you guys. Now comes the real thing." He looks at his ten commanders. "Seize them!"  
  
Jax looks at everyone. "I got Shao!"  
  
"I got Vega," said Sonya.  
  
"I claim Mileena," said Chun-Li.  
  
"I got Sheeva," said Ken.  
  
"I have Sagat," said Dan.  
  
"I got Kano," said Guile.  
  
"I got the horse," said Rolento. He looks at Liu. "Want to help?"  
  
"Sure," said Liu. "His name is Motaro by the way."  
  
"Okay," Rolento replied.  
  
"I have the monster guy," said Ryu looking at Baraka.  
  
"I have the woman," said Mika looking at Sindel.  
  
Cammy looks around and looks at Sektor. "Um, I have the robot."  
  
Everyone walks towards their chosen fighters.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
***It's Ryu Vs. Baraka, Chun-Li Vs. Mileena, Ken Vs. Sheeva, Sonya Vs. Vega, Guile Vs. Kano, Liu and Rolento Vs. Motaro, Cammy Vs. Sektor, Dan Vs. Sagat, Mika Vs. Sindel, and Jax Vs. Shao Kahn. Who will survive this ultimate battle? Find out during the final four chapters!  
  
By the way, PLEASE review this, but no flames! 


	26. Ch 25: The Final Battle Part One

Chapter Twenty-Five  
  
  
  
  
  
The ten battles begin........  
  
Guile walks over to Kano. Kano spits and then gets into a fighting stance. "Are you ready to try to squeal me like a piggy?" He laughs a little.  
  
Guile gets into a fighting stance and gives Kano the most serious look of determination. "Ready and waiting!"  
  
Kano slowly walks up to Guile, his arms raised up. "Hold still so I can cream ya." Suddenly, a red laser comes out of Kano's right red eye. Guile dodges out of the way. The laser burns a nearby rock.  
  
"I said hold still," Kano said.  
  
Kano shoots the laser at Guile. Each time Kano shoots the laser, Guile dodges out of the way. Then, Kano shoots the laser out twice in a row. Guile dodges one, but the other one pieces right in his arm. Guile growls in pain and bends down to his knees. He looks at his arm. Blood slowly gushes out.  
  
Kano slowly walks over to Guile and laughs. "Now, hold still again so I can kill you like that skinny skeleton from the tournament."  
  
Guile knew that Kano meant Dhalsim. Then, Guile remembers just how Kano killed him.  
  
Kano jumps in the air, and then performs a high-speed somersault towards Guile.  
  
Guile laughs. "I'll show you a somersault." When Kano was inches away from his head, Guile quickly jumps in the air, quickly brings his legs forward, and manages to kick Kano right under his chin. Kano lands back on the ground with a loud thud while Guile safely lands back on his feet.  
  
Kano gets up. "You'll pay for that!"  
  
Kano runs towards him and starts throwing series of punches at Guile. Guile manages to block them. Then, he finds an opening and kicks Kano right in the stomach.  
  
Guile starts to collect energy in his hands. "Dee Jay, Dhalsim......this is for you guys."  
  
Kano gets up, not realizing what Guile is about to do.  
  
"SSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC C BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Guile let's the yellow boomerang-shaped energy fly out of his hands. At a very high speed, it hits Kano hand sending him flying high above the air and over the mountains.  
  
"Ha!" Guile cried out in victory. "That's one down!" Then, he hears a scream. Guile turns to the scream and sees something horrifying....  
  
"Come on!" Cammy cried getting into her fighting stance.  
  
The red Lin Kuei robot Sektor wasted no time. Instead of getting into a fighting stance, Sektor runs towards Cammy. Then, he jumps in the air and aims his foot at Cammy.  
  
Cammy quickly jumps in the air and somersaults over Sektor. At the same time, they both land on the ground. Before Cammy could recover from the landing, Sektor quickly kicks her in the face. Cammy almost loses her balance, but she manages to remain her poseur. Then, Sektor starts throwing kicks and punches at her. Cammy only manages to block a few of his moves.  
  
Then, Cammy finds an opening. She performs a kick to Sektor's side and manages to jump back away from him.  
  
Suddenly, Sektor teleports behind Cammy and gives her a hard punch in the head. Cammy falls forward to the ground. As she does, Sektor grabs her by the legs and begins to spin her rapidly. Then, he lets her go. Cammy flies towards the wall and hits her side. She tumbles to the ground.  
  
Sektor runs towards her. As he does, Cammy quickly gets up ignoring her dizziness. "Cannon drill!" she cried. She spins her body low to the ground, her feet towards Sektor. She manages to trip Sektor who falls hard to the ground. Cammy slowly gets up still feeling dizzy, but does her best to ignore it.  
  
Then, Cammy jumps in the air and does a hand stand on Sektor's shoulders. Then, she takes him by the neck and, with her body, twists it. Sektor's head rips right off, sending electric sparks. Cammy quickly lets go and lets herself fall to the ground.  
  
Cammy lies on her back breathing heavily and looks up at the dark sky. "Damn," she said. "I *gasp* I *gasp* I actually *gasp* beat him."  
  
Then, she heard a loud scream. Cammy looks over to see where it came from........  
  
Ryu and Baraka look at each other, both with determination on their faces. Ryu gets into a fighting stance.  
  
Baraka raises his Bone Kamas up and runs towards Ryu. Ryu jumps in the air and kicks Baraka in the face. Baraka ignores the pain and attempts to stab Ryu with his claw. He completely misses as Ryu dodges out of the way.  
  
As Ryu lands, Baraka lets out a battle cry and starts swiping his claws at him. Ryu would jump, duck, or step over to the side.  
  
Then, as Ryu jumps, Baraka manages to scratch Ryu with one of the claws in the shin.  
  
Ryu growls in pain. As he lands, he rolls quickly out of the way so he could have a little more time to recover. He starts to collect energy in his hands as Baraka runs after him.  
  
"Hadouken!!!" Ryu cried out. He lets the energy out of his hands. Ryu is surprised when Baraka dodges out of the way of the energy.  
  
"Damn," Ryu said under his breath. He gets up ignoring the pain in his leg.  
  
When Baraka is two feet away, Ryu jumps in the air, puts one leg out, and starts spinning rapidly hitting Baraka in the face.  
  
"Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku!!!!" Ryu cried out. He then hears a snapping of a bone breaking into two. Ryu lands back on the ground. Baraka's now- lifeless body falls backwards on the ground.  
  
Ryu looks down at his dead opponent for a minute, the wind blowing hard making his red bandana flap hard in the air. Then, Ryu hears a scream. Ryu turns to the voice........  
  
Ken smiles at his opponent Sheeva. "Hey, I remember you."  
  
"Yeah," Sheeva said. "You're that little runt that made those comments."  
  
"HEY!!" Ken cried. "Who are you calling a runt?"  
  
"Maybe if you didn't call me a mean, ugly lady, I wouldn't have called you a runt." She gets into a fighting stance. "Now let's get this over with."  
  
Ken gets into a fighting stance as well, his face now looking serious. "Bring it on."  
  
Suddenly, Sheeva jumps high in the air, her feet towards Ken. Ken dodges out of the way as she stomps on the ground making the ground shake a little.  
  
"Whoa!" Ken cried out almost losing his balance. As Sheeva recovers, Ken takes the opportunity to quickly run towards her and starts throwing series of punches and kicks at Sheeva. Sheeva blocks some of them, but not a lot.  
  
"Ha!" Ken cried. "This fight is a lot easier than I thought."  
  
Suddenly, with her two right arms, Sheeva throws a hard punch at Ken's jaw and side. Ken pulls back a little to recover.  
  
Sheeva laughs a little. "You think so now?"  
  
She suddenly disappears then reappears in the air, her feet towards Ken. Ken sees her and dodges out of the way. Sheeva stomps on the ground again.  
  
Ken sees an opportunity as she runs over to him. Ken lifts his right fist up and jumps in the air.  
  
"SHIN-RYU-KEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he cried out. As he hits Sheeva under her chin, his arm turns into flames. One part of the flames sets her red attire on fire quickly igniting her body into flames.  
  
"Whoa!" Ken cried dodging out of the way. He watches as Sheeva quickly burns into nothing but ashes.  
  
Ken looks at his fist. "That never happened before!" He shrugs. "Must be before she's from a different race."  
  
Then, he hears an ear-piercing scream. Ken turns to the noise......  
  
Liu and Rolento walk over to Motaro.  
  
Rolento spins his baton around in circles. "You ready for this?"  
  
Liu gets into a fighting stance. "I'm ready all right."  
  
Motaro laughs. "You two ready to die?"  
  
"I think that goes for you," said Liu.  
  
The two good fighters stare at Motaro for a minute. Then, the Centaur runs after them, his hooves galloping into the ground.  
  
Liu puts his hands out. A fireball comes out of his hands. Then, Motaro does the same thing. Their fireballs collided into each other creating a small explosion.  
  
Rolento jumps after him hitting his baton hard against Motaro's head. It didn't seem to hurt Motaro as he grabs Rolento and throws him over to the side. Rolento hits a wall making him a little weak.  
  
"Rolento!" Liu cried. He growls at Motaro.  
  
Motaro laughs. "You really think you can win this by yourself?"  
  
"You never know," Liu replied. He jumps in the air and flies towards Motaro, his feet towards him. He attempts a bicycle kick, but Motaro blocks the move. Just like with Rolento, Motaro grabs him and throws him towards a wall. Liu falls to the ground.  
  
Rolento gets up and runs towards Motaro with a grenade in his hand. "Take this!" he cried. He rips the pin out of the grenade and throws it at Motaro. An explosion occurs, the smoke separating Rolento and Motaro.  
  
After a minute of waiting, Rolento smiles. "That takes care of him."  
  
What Rolento didn't realize was that Motaro's tail slowly sneaks towards him.  
  
Liu is the only one who sees this. "ROLENTO!!!!!"  
  
Suddenly, the tail quickly dashes towards Rolento and stabs him right through his back and out his stomach. Rolento lets out an ear-piercing scream of pain. Then, his body goes limp.  
  
Guile, Cammy, Ryu, and Ken, all who were finished with their battles, turn to the lifeless Rolento and see him with horror in their faces.  
  
"Rolento!!" Ken cried as he and the others run to his aid.  
  
Motaro appears through the smoke with Rolento at the end of his tail. "Just like this one, you will all die."  
  
He swipes his tail, letting go of Rolento. Rolento flies in the air and over the mountain.  
  
Guile looks at Motaro with anger. "For that, you'll not live to see another minute!"  
  
Liu slowly gets up. "Let's combine our powers!"  
  
"Right!" everyone else cried out.  
  
Motaro only laughs and gets into a fighting stance. "Let's see you all try."  
  
Guile looks at Cammy. "Stand back. We're all going to use our energy sources."  
  
Cammy nods and stands back.  
  
Guile, Ryu, and Ken collect energy in their hands. Liu gets ready to fire.  
  
"Sonic Boom!"  
  
"Hadouken!"  
  
"Hadouken!"  
  
"Fireball!"  
  
All four of them release their powers. The four powers unite together and hit Motaro, causing him to explode. The five of them, including Cammy, shield themselves from all the bones, blood and flesh.  
  
"Eck," cried Cammy. "Now I need to shower."  
  
"Unfortunately," said Liu. "We have no time for that."  
  
Guile looks up. "We have beaten our opponents, but the battle still continues. We can't let anyone else die!" He then shouts out, "Rolento, for you and your wife, we will win this!!!"  
  
*************************************************************  
  
The battle still continues with Mika Vs. Sindel, Dan Vs. Sagat, Chun-Li Vs. Mileena, Sonya Vs. Vega, and Jax Vs. Shao Kahn! Yet again, another friend dies, but the fighters promise themselves that no one else will die other than evil. Will they be able to keep that promise? Find out in the final two chapters!  
  
*I realized that there are actually two chapters left, not three. I accidentally counted the Author's Notes and Comments section, which will be posted up along with the final chapter of The Outworld. Stay tuned. PLEASE review this, but no flames. 


	27. Ch 26: The Final Battle Part Two

Chapter Twenty-Six  
  
  
  
  
  
The next five battles begin.......  
  
Mika walks over to Sindel feeling a little nervous about the fight.  
  
Sindel smiles evilly her white eyes glowing. "You really think that you can win this fight?"  
  
Mika gets into a fighting stance with determination. "Yes, for the people who've died in this tournament!"  
  
Mika takes a deep breath. {Remember the words of Nightwolf,} she thought.  
  
Then, with a battle cry, Sindel goes after her. She jumps in the air and performs a scissor kick towards Mika. Mika quickly blocks the move. Sindel jumps back down to the ground. Mika quickly jumps in the air and attempts to kick Sindel, but she too blocks the move.  
  
As Mika lands back down, Sindel flips her very long hair forward. Her hand wraps around Mika. With her hair, Sindel takes Mika and throws her hard against the wall.  
  
As Mika recovers, Sindel looks at her and laughs. "It looks like I'm winning so far, dear," she said. She bends down to Mika, opens her mouth, and lets out an ear-piercing scream.  
  
Even with her ears covered, Mika could still feel the throbbing pain in her ear. Then, the boulders above her start to fall towards Mika. Mika sees this and dodges out of the way. The boulders crash down to the ground where Mika was previously sitting.  
  
Sindel quickly walks up to Mika and kicks her in the face. Mika falls back and manages to roll out of the way. Then, she quickly gets up. Mika could feel her nose bleeding, but she ignores it.  
  
Sindel runs over to her, but Mika is prepared this time. "You die now!" Sindel cried out.  
  
As soon as Sindel is close to her, Mika dodges out of the way and goes behind her. She wraps her arms around her waist. "Take this!" she cried out. She flips herself over a few times smashing Sindel hard on the ground. She then gets go of Sindel. Feeling dizziness and pain from the move, Sindel slowly gets up.  
  
"Lets go for the German Surplex," Mika said grinning evilly. She grabs Sindel and gives her multiple head butts in fast speed. Then, she jumps in the air and lands on an edge of the cliff. Then, she jumps off and it and body slams Sindel. Mika could hear Sindel's bones break........including her neck.  
  
Mika slowly gets up and stares at Sindel's lifeless body for a minute. Then, she looks around.  
  
"I better help the others," she said. That's when she hear and evil laugh.....  
  
Meanwhile, Dan goes up to Sagat and grins. "So, we meet again. I've always wanted to show you my Saikyo moves."  
  
Sagat only laughs as he gets into his Muay Thai fighting stance. "Really? Well, let's see what you've got. Don't expect to live through this."  
  
What Sagat doesn't know is that Dan was the one who beat Goro a few hours ago.  
  
Dan gets into his fighting stance. {If you can beat a monster like Goro, you can beat someone like Sagat. Keep it cool, clear your head, and remember Nightwolf.}  
  
Sagat puts his arms out in front of him. "Tiger!" Energy comes out of his hands. Dan quickly dodges out of the way and attempts to deliver a blow with his elbow to Sagat's side. Sagat sees this and blocks the move. Dan steps aside.  
  
Sagat then raises his leg and delivers a blow to Dan's face. Dan takes the blow. He steps back a few feet while holding his face.  
  
Sagat then crouches down, raises his fists and then jumps hitting Dan under his chin.  
  
"Take this!" he cried out. Dan flies high in the air before landing back down hard on the ground.  
  
Sagat runs over to him. "Like I said, don't expect yourself to live through this. Stay there while I kill you."  
  
Dan quickly gets up. "That was only a lucky shot! Take this!"  
  
Dan jumps in the air. "Dankuu kyaku!!!!!" He kicks Sagat multiple times in the face. Sagat's nose begins to bleed.  
  
Then, Dan lands back on the ground with his feet. Sagat runs after him again. "Sho-ryu-ken!" Dan cried out. Sagat takes the blow. He expects Dan to go one foot, but when Sagat finds himself ten feet in the air, he becomes shocked.  
  
When they both land on the ground, Sagat looks up at Dan. "You've never delivered a blow like that before."  
  
Dan looks at Sagat while collecting energy in his hands. "Just a few days ago, I met someone named Nightwolf and he taught me everything about how to be a better fighter mentally."  
  
His hands begin to glow as Sagat slowly gets up. "You know," Dan said. "There is one thing that I've learned. As long as you are strong mentally, you can win everything." He closes his eyes. {Father, and to all who've died in this tournament.......this is for you guys.}  
  
"GADOUKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Dan cried out releasing the very large ball of energy.  
  
"This can't be!" Sagat cried out as he is hit with the energy. Dan could hear him screaming as he flies over the mountain.  
  
Dan smirks to himself and wipes his hands against each other. "That takes care of that."  
  
That's when he hears and evil laugh. "What the..........."  
  
"So Chun-Li," said Mileena holding out her sais. "We meet again for another battle."  
  
Chun-Li gets into a fighting stance and narrows her eyes at her opponent. "Yes, we do."  
  
Mileena laughs. "Well, unfortunately, you won't win again, and this time.......you will die."  
  
"Try me!" Chun-Li cried out.  
  
Mileena laughs again. Then, she quickly rolls over towards Chun-Li and attempts to stab her with one of her sais. Chun-Li jumps out of the way and somersaults over her. As she lands, Chun-Li attempts a kick at Mileena's face, but Mileena sees the move and quickly blocks it with her forearm.  
  
Then, Mileena throws one of her sais at Chun-Li. Chun-Li dodges out of the way. The sai flies a few feet before getting stuck to a wall.  
  
"Too bad you can't get it back," Chun-Li said. She runs over to her and starts throwing series of kung-fu like punches at Mileena. Mileena blocks all of them. Then, she attempts to stab Chun-Li. Chun-Li sees this and grabs the sai. The women start to play tug-of-war with the sai for a few moments. Then, the sai starts to slip from Chun-Li's hands. Since Chun-Li has the sharp end of the sai, the sai slices her hands. Blood starts to drip out of her palms. She tries her best to ignore the pain.  
  
Mileena laughs. "What's wrong, honey? Giving up already?"  
  
Chun-Li growls. "For my father........never!"  
  
She quickly kicks Mileena in the stomach. The wind is knocked out of Mileena making her let go of the sai. Chun-Li throws the sai far to the side and quickly runs over to Mileena. She begins to throw series of punches and kicks at her.  
  
"This is for the people killed in the tournament!" Chun-Li cried out. With one of her legs, she performs her Thousand-Burst Kicks kicking Mileena in high speed in the face, chest, and stomach.  
  
"This is for my friends who were killed." Then, Chun-Li jumps in the air and kicks Mileena rapidly in the face. "Hazan Tenshokyaku!!!!!"  
  
With a loud thud, Mileena lands on the ground hard. As Chun-Li lands back down, she begins to collect energy in her hands.  
  
Mileena slowly gets up. "I.......I've underestimated you......."  
  
"This is for my father!!!!!!!!!!! Kikosho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Chun-Li lets out a very large ball of energy out of her hands. Mileena is hit with it sending her flying against the wall. As she hits the wall, Chun-Li could hear her neck breaking. Mileena's now-lifeless body falls to the ground like a rag doll.  
  
Chun-Li stares at her for a minute in silence. Then, she hears an evil laugh. Chun-Li turns to the laugh..........  
  
With rage in her heart, Sonya walks over to Vega. "This is it!" she cried. "I'm going to avenge Johnny once and for all."  
  
Vega only laughs behind his mask. "My, you're a pesky one. You know, revenge isn't the answer to everything you know."  
  
Sonya gets into a fighting stance. "Maybe not, but I'm sure that Johnny would just love to see you suffer at my feet for what you did to him."  
  
Vega laughs again. "Well see about that." He gets into a fighting stance and raises his claws. The two stare at each other for a minute. Then, Vega jumps towards the wall, bounces off of it, and shoots towards Sonya in high speed with his claws in front of him. Sonya quickly dodges out of the way, but as she does, Vega scratches his claws on Sonya's back.  
  
"Aahh," she cried out feeling the blood gush out of her back. She clenches her teeth as she turns back to Vega. As Vega lands, Sonya raises her fists and tries to ignore the throbbing pain on her back.  
  
Then, Sonya attempts a roundhouse kick at Vega. Vega blocks the move and tries to scratch her again. Sonya performs a backward flip to get out of the way. Then, she jumps high in the air and somersaults above him. She lands back down. As Vega turns around, Sonya attempts another kick at him. Vega attempts to stab her, but only scratches her calf deeply.  
  
"Damn it!" she cried out feeling the throbbing pain now on her leg. As she tries to recover, Vega scratches her right arm, then her torso.  
  
"AAAHHHH!!!" she cried out. "That's it! You asked for it!"  
  
Sonya jumps in the air and performs another roundhouse kick at Vega's face, hard enough to crack his mask in pieces and fall to the ground. Vega starts to fill with rage as he touches his face feeling the blood gush out of his face.  
  
"You little Bitch!!!" he cried out. "You'll suffer just like Johnny!!"  
  
Sonya was prepared as he runs after her, his claws raised in the air. Then, Sonya jumps up again and takes Vega by the hand. From there, she manages to rip his claws off his hand. Then, she kicks him in the face making him fall to the ground. As he gets up again, Sonya puts the claw on.  
  
Because of the loss of blood, Sonya starts to feel dizzy and all she could see is blur. She quickly shakes her head. {I'm not about to give up yet!}  
  
As Vega runs after her, Sonya takes the claws.........and stabs him right through the stomach. Vega looks up at her in shock.  
  
"How does it feel to die under your own claws?" she asked. "Now you know what it's like to be the prey." Vega begins to cough up blood.  
  
"Now, I'll finish you off," she said. She takes the glove off leaving Vega's claws in his stomach. She wraps her legs around Vega. With a quick blow, she uses her scissor kick right through him splitting him in half. (A/N: Sorry Vammy, it had to be done.)  
  
As Sonya lands back down on the ground, she starts to feel move dizzy from the loss of her own blood. Then, she falls towards the ground.  
  
Ken sees this after defeating Motaro and runs over to her. He catches her just in time. "Are you all right?" he asked.  
  
Sonya looks up at her. "Never been better." She laughs a little. "I finally got vengeance for Johnny."  
  
"Vega cut you up pretty good," Ken said. He lays Sonya against the wall. "Just rest right now."  
  
Suddenly, they hear a loud laugh.  
  
"What was that?" Ken asked..........  
  
"This is it Shao," Jax said getting into a fighting stance. "Your ass is going down tonight."  
  
Shao laughs a little and gets to his fighting stance. "And what makes you think that you can win, Jackson Briggs?"  
  
{Grrr,} Jax thought. {Not my real name!}  
  
"Because the good guys ALWAYS win!"  
  
"Well," Shao said. "This time, it's EVIL who is going to win."  
  
They approach each other slowly. Then, Jax runs towards him and begins to throw punches and kicks at Shao. Shao blocks each one of them. Jax keeps going hoping that he will find an opening or that Shao would get weak from all of the blocking.  
  
Then, Shao grabs Jax's right arm, the only arm containing his metal arm. Shao ends up pulling his metal arm off. He throws it aside causing it to break in half.  
  
"Damn you!" Jax cried. "First, Reptile burns my left one, now you go and break my right one!"  
  
Then, before he even knew it, Shao delivers a knee blow to Jax's stomach knocking the wind out of him. This gives Shao the opportunity to throw a very hard punch to Jax's face. The blow makes a long gash in the inside of Jax's cheek. Jax could taste his own blood.  
  
Then, Shao takes him by the shoulders and delivers a head butt to Jax. He only manages to weaken him. As he falls to the ground, Shao lets out a loud, evil laugh.  
  
Everyone turns towards Shao. In horror, they see Jax down on the ground bleeding from his mouth.  
  
"JAX!!!!!!!!" Sonya cried.  
  
Shao looks down at Jax ignoring everyone else. He lifts up his fist. "One more blow to the head and you shall die."  
  
Jax looks up at Shao. He couldn't believe that only a few blows from Shao could make him feel so weak. Jax closes his eyes and prepares for his death.  
  
Then, to his surprise, he feels an aura coming closer.  
  
"HADOUKEN!!!!!!!!!" he heard someone cry.  
  
Jax watches as Shao steps aside. The energy just misses him. Jax turns his head and sees Ken with his arms extended. Jax rolls himself towards his friends while Shao recovers from the near blow.  
  
Ken looks down at Jax. "Hey buddy."  
  
Jax smiles weakly. "Thanks for watching my back."  
  
"No problem," said Guile. "You look pretty battered. How about you go to the sidelines with Sonya and rest for a while."  
  
"Yeah," Jax said and crawls over to where Sonya is. "Be careful you guys, he's dangerous."  
  
Everyone nods. Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken, Guile, Liu, Cammy, Dan, and Mika look over at Shao, who stares back at them and lets out an evil laugh.  
  
Sonya looks over at Jax. "That laugh is giving me a headache."  
  
Jax laughs a little. "Hopefully, we can recover quick enough to help them out."  
  
"I don't think that would be long," Sonya replied.  
  
Shao looks at the other eight fighters. "Don't think that any of you will make it out alive. Tonight, you will all die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
*************************************************************  
  
And now, they face the Emperor of The Outworld, Shao Kahn. With Jax and Sonya injured and Rayden, Kitana, Sub-Zero, Fei-Long, and Honda somewhere else, will the eight other fighters be able to destroy Shao even with their combined powers? Find out in the final chapter of The Outworld!  
  
A/N: Just to calm the Jax and Sonya fans down a bit, they will do a little fighting in the final chapter :) 


	28. Ch 27: The Final Battle Part Three

Chapter Twenty-Seven  
  
  
  
  
  
"Do you think we will make it?" asked Fei-Long. He, Rayden, Honda, Sub- Zero, and Kitana are running through the woods searching for Shao's lair.  
  
"We're almost there," Rayden said. "I can feel evil just ahead.  
  
Suddenly, Rayden stops in his tracks. The other four see this and stop in their tracks as well.  
  
"What's wrong, Rayden?" asked Sub-Zero looking at Rayden in confusion.  
  
"I didn't get rid of my immortality," Rayden replied. "With my immortality, I cannot face Shao Kahn."  
  
"Wait a minute, I'm confused," said Fei-Long.  
  
"Me too," Honda agreed. "I mean, you faced Shang Tsung, isn't he a part of Outworld?"  
  
"Yes," Rayden replied. "But Shao Kahn is much stronger and more powerful. I would need to go back to the world of the Elder Gods to give up my immortality."  
  
"Rayden," said Sub-Zero. "We destroyed Shang Tsung and you saved my life. You've done a lot for us during this tournament. Just stay here, the four of us will take care of Shao."  
  
"Are you sure?" Rayden asked.  
  
Sub-Zero nods.  
  
"We'll be careful," said Kitana.  
  
The four of them make their way through the woods.  
  
Rayden nods. "Good luck, my friends."  
  
***  
  
Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken, Guile, Liu, Cammy, Dan, and Mika stand in their fighting stances and look up at the Emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn.  
  
"Don't think that any of you will make it out alive," Shao said. "Tonight, you will all die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"That's what you think!" Guile cried. "Face it Kahn, it's eight against one, you're sure to lose."  
  
"Really?" Shao said. "You should never underestimate me Colonel Guile. No one has ever beaten me and lives even if they have a full army against me! I will give you all an offer. Join Outworld and I shall spare your lives."  
  
"Never!" cried Liu. "Outworld has done nothing but cause chaos and we will put an end to it tonight!"  
  
"Fine then. Let the battle to your deaths begin!"  
  
Meanwhile, Sonya and Jax sit against the wall injured from the previous fights. Sonya looks at Jax. "I hate to just sit here and watch."  
  
"They want us to do that," Jax replied. "Our injuries are not well enough for us to go up against Shao."  
  
"I know, but I just want to save the world."  
  
Jax nods.  
  
The eight fighters stood still and stare at Shao not sure of what move to make first.  
  
"Why are we just standing?" asked Ken. "Let's get him!" With a battle cry, Ken starts to run after him.  
  
"I'm with you!" Dan cried following him. Mika does the same as well. Everyone else follows letting out a battle cry.  
  
Ken jumps in the air and points his leg out. Shao only grabs his leg throwing him aside like a fly. Dan starts to throw series of punches at Shao, but he blocks every one of them. Shao pushes him aside towards Ken. Mika tries to go behind him to grab him from behind, but Shao grabs her arms, delivers a hard blow to her face, and then throws her to the opposite wall. Cammy jumps in next delivering her best kicks. Then, Shao grabs her by her pigtails, swings her around, and then lets go. She flies to where Mika is. Guile gets under him and attempts his backward somersault, but Shao kicks him in his 'special place.' Guile rolls away. When he stops he goes into some extreme pain.  
  
"Cheap!" he cried out.  
  
Chun-Li goes up next, delivers her Thousand-Burst Kicks. She becomes shocked when Shao blocks all of her kicks. Shao delivers an uppercut to her jaw sending her flying backwards.  
  
Ryu jumps in next throwing series of raging punches and kicks. Shao blocks them all of course. Then, he takes Ryu by the head and throws him aside. Liu jumps in doing the same thing as Ryu. Shao only laughs and kicks Liu hard in the stomach sending him flying backwards.  
  
Ken and Dan recover and get up. "Let's get him," Ken said.  
  
"Yahoo!!!" Dan cried out. The two run after Shao from behind. Ken jumps on his back while Dan grabs one of his arms.  
  
"Got him!" Ken cried out.  
  
Everyone else except Mika run over to him and start grabbing him and jumping on him. Shao struggles through the grips.  
  
Mika slowly gets up.  
  
"Mika!" cried Dan. "Come join the great piggy-back ride!"  
  
Mika laughs a little and runs over to the group. As she got closer, Shao manages to free his arms from Dan and Guile. He takes Cammy by her head and smashes her hard to the ground. Cammy screams in pain.  
  
"Cammy!" Mika cried.  
  
Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Liu remain on Shao's back. Ken manages to reach over to Shao and cover his eyes.  
  
"Now you see us, now you don't," Ken said.  
  
"Ken, this is no time for jokes!" Liu cried. He ends up losing his grip on Shao and slips off his back.  
  
Shao becomes angry and grabs Ken by his wrists. Ryu and Chun-Li let go of Shao and slide off his back. Shao throws Ken in front of him, jumps, and knees him hard in the chest. As he jumps, green shadows follow him.  
  
"KEN!!!" Ryu cried as he hears his best friend scream in pain. Shao simply drops Ken after that. Ken lands on the ground and then puts his hands over his broken ribs. Shao lands back down afterwards.  
  
Shao turns to Cammy who is barely conscious. "Two down, six to go!"  
  
The remaining six fighters run towards Shao again. Guile jumps in the air and attempts a roundhouse kick. As Shao blocks the move, Mika slides under Guile and attempts to trip Shao. Shao quickly sees this, jumps a few feet in the air, and stomps on her. Mika screams in pain.  
  
"MIKA!!!!!" Dan cried out. He jumps in the air and performs his Dankuu Kyaku. Shao sees this and blocks the move. Then, he manages to grab Dan's leg and throw him aside again. Mika quickly rolls out of the way ignoring the pain in her stomach.  
  
Guile goes after him again and throws series of punches at Shao. Then Shao grabs his right arm. Guile expects to be thrown to the side again, but to his surprise Shao quickly twists his arm. Guile growls in pain as he feels his elbow being dislocated.  
  
"Am I cheap now?" Shao asked. Guile falls to the ground and hold on to his arm.  
  
The remaining five fighters run towards Shao letting out their battle cries. Shao opens his mouth. A green fireball comes out of his mouth at high speed. Everyone dodges out of the way, but as Dan moves, the fireball hits his side sending him flying backwards. Dan hits his head on the wall knocking him out unconscious.  
  
"DAN!!!!!" Mika cried out. She looks at Shao with rage and runs towards him. She jumps in the air, both of her feet extended out. Shao blocks the move. Mika quickly jumps back and lands on the ground. Shao lunges at her and throws a few punches at her. Mika blocks the first few, but then misses one fast punch from Shao and is hit square in the jaw.  
  
The other four fighters run over to help, but then, Shao takes out his sledge hammer from one of his pockets and slugs Mika hard with it. Mika spits out blood as she flies backwards in the air. She lands on her side. Mika tries to get up, but feels too weak to do so.  
  
Ryu, Chun-Li, and Liu get close to Shao again. Liu jumps in the air, brings his legs forward, and darts towards Shao. He attempts his bicycle kick, but Shao manages to block the move. Then, he does a backward flip, his leg extended, and kicks Liu's back. Liu falls to the ground in pain. Chun-Li runs over to him again but before she did anything, Shao takes out his hammer again and hits her side hard enough to break one of her ribs. Chun-Li cries in pain as Ryu runs over to Shao and throws more punches and kicks at Shao making him drop his hammer. Then, Shao throws an uppercut punch at Ryu's jaw. Ryu flies back a little and falls to the ground.  
  
Shao stands over everyone and laughs. "Like I said before, never underestimate me."  
  
Sonya growls in anger. She slowly gets up and starts running towards Shao.  
  
Jax sees this and looks at Sonya with terror. "Sonya, NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Sonya jumps in the air and performs her scissor kick. Shao grabs her by the legs and throws her to a wall in fast speed. Sonya hits her head hard on the wall knocking her out.  
  
Jax slowly gets up. "Sonya!" He looks up at Shao. "Shao Kahn!!! You're going to get it!!!!!!" Despite the intense pain running throughout his body, Jax runs as fast as he can towards Shao. Shao's back was turned to Jax. Jax jumps in the air with his leg extended. To his surprise, Shao steps aside. Jax flies past him and lands hard on the ground making his injuries worse.  
  
Shao looks at everyone. "You all lose! Now you will all die." He looks down and sees Chun-Li right next to his feet. He bends down to her and grabs her by the next. "And this one will be the first to die."  
  
Ryu, who was only two feet away, quickly looks up seeing Chun-Li in Shao's grasps. Like with Ken inside the lair, Shao begins to twist her neck.  
  
"SHO-RYU-KEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ryu cried out. He jumps in the air, his arm raised. He manages to hit Shao under his chin. The three of them fly high in the air. As Shao lands on the ground, Ryu manages to catch Chun-Li in his arms. He lands on his feet while Shao lands on his side.  
  
It was then that Liu gets up and runs over to Shao. Just before Shao could recover from the blow, Liu gets to him and rapidly throws punches and kicks at Shao.  
  
Ryu lays Chun-Li down back on the ground. Chun-Li looks up at Ryu. "You saved my life again."  
  
Ryu smiles. "Don't worry. Liu and I will take care of Shao. You and the others rest."  
  
Chun-Li nods. Ryu gets up and runs over to aid Liu.  
  
Shao manages to throw a punch at Liu but as he does, Ryu jumps in and rapidly throws more kicks and punches at Shao. Shao only manages to block a few, but Ryu then throws a regular uppercut sending Shao flying in the air.  
  
Shao lands on the ground. Ryu and Liu watch as Shao slowly gets up. "Lucky shot, but you'll still die!" He runs over to them. Liu runs towards him as well. Shao throws a few punches, but Liu blocks them. Then, he gives him a hard slug, and then kicks him in the chest. Ryu jumps in and throws a hard punch at his face, his jaw, and then his stomach.  
  
"He's getting weaker!" Liu cried out. "Let's finish this!"  
  
"Right!" Ryu cried out. He jumps in the air, puts on leg out, and starts spinning rapidly. "TATSUMAKI SENPUU KYAKU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He hits Shao in the face multiple times. As soon as he lands, Liu jumps in the air, points both of his legs forward, and spins his body rapidly bringing himself towards Shao. He hits him hard enough to break one of his ribs.  
  
Ryu collects energy in his hands. Liu quickly returns next to Ryu and puts his hands out.  
  
"On a count to three," said Liu. "We release our energies."  
  
"Right!"  
  
Shao slowly gets up not realizing what Ryu and Liu are about to do.  
  
***  
  
"Over there!" cried Honda. He points in front of him.  
  
The others see Shao's Lair. Not only did they see the lair, but also sees their friends scattered around.  
  
"They're not dead, are they?" asked Fei-Long.  
  
Kitana looks at all of them. "No, they're all still alive."  
  
"Look over there!" cried Sub-Zero. The others see where he is pointing that. Ryu and Liu are up watching Shao struggle to get up.  
  
"What the......" Kitana only managed to say.  
  
***  
  
"One...." Liu cried out. "Two.........three!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"SHINKU HADOUKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"FIREBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
The two warriors release their powers. The energies swirl around each other then unite as one. Then, in very high speed, it shoots towards Shao and hits him hard enough to fly backwards.  
  
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Shao cried out before slamming his body against the wall. He falls onto his stomach unconscious. Then, the boulders and rocks about him quickly fall towards him until they bury him completely.  
  
Ryu and Liu look at the boulders with their arms still extended out. For a minute, there was silence.  
  
"We did it," Ryu said.  
  
"Yes," Liu replied. "He is finally destroyed."  
  
"Whoa!" cried a voice. Ryu and Liu turn around and see Sub-Zero, Kitana, Fei-Long, and Honda walk up towards them.  
  
"Nice job you guys," said Kitana. "The Outworld is no more!"  
  
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes just next to them, startling the warriors. Rayden appears next to them.  
  
"Well done my friends," Rayden said. "The world is free again. Now, I must go and heal the others."  
  
As he heals Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Dan, Mika, Cammy, Sonya, and Jax, the others look up at the sky. It starts to turn into an orange color indicating that it's past dawn.  
  
When Rayden finishes healing the others, Dan and Mika run over to each other.  
  
"It's over!" cried Dan as he and Mika embrace.  
  
"Let's go back to Japan and celebrate!" Mika cried. The two share a passionate kiss.  
  
Guile checks his arm out. "Wow, I'm cured!" Then, he looks up at the sky. "You can rest in peace now, Charlie."  
  
Everyone else hugs each other and then celebrate their victories with cheers.  
  
"Now, there is only one thing left to do," said Ken. Everyone looks at him. "Pack our bags and get off this island!"  
  
"Good idea!" cried Honda. "I can't wait to get home and eat some sushi!"  
  
Jax then looks at Cammy. Knowing that she had nowhere to go, he walks up to her. "How about you come back with Sonya and I. I know a military in England that may take you in."  
  
Cammy smirks a little. "Thank you."  
  
"Wait!" cried Mika. "So if this is all over, who won the tournament?"  
  
Everyone thought for a minute. Finally, Rayden said, "No one did! Even though Sub-Zero killed Shang, you had to fight Shang in an actual tournament."  
  
Everyone nods in agreement.  
  
"Why are we standing around?" asked Fei-Long. "Let's get out of here while it's morning!"  
  
Ken, Guile, Cammy, Dan, Mika, Liu, Rayden, Kitana, Fei-Long, Honda, Sub- Zero, Sonya, and Jax start walking back through the woods. Chun-Li notices Ryu looking back at the boulders.  
  
She walks over to him and wraps her arms around her waist. Ryu feels this and puts his hands over her.  
  
Chun-Li stands on her toes to whisper in his ear. "What are you thinking?" she asked.  
  
Ryu looks over at Chun-Li. "I have a bad feeling about something."  
  
A concern look appears on Chun-Li's face. "Like what?"  
  
Ryu shrugs. "Like this is not over yet."  
  
Chun-Li places one of her hands on Ryu's face. "Don't worry, Shao's gone now. It's the end of that......but a new beginning of something else." She gives him a seductive smile.  
  
It took a few seconds for Ryu to get the message. He leans over to her and the two share a passionate kiss for a minute. Neither of them wanted the moment to end.  
  
After breaking the kiss, Chun-Li takes his hand. "Let's catch up with the others."  
  
"Right," Ryu said. Holding hands, the two run through the woods to catch up with the others.  
  
***  
  
An hour later........  
  
The nameless island is now deserted. The survivors of the tournament are now off the island.  
  
At Shao Kahn's Lair, There is nothing left but rocks and boulders scattered around the grounds.  
  
Then, a couple of rocks slide to the side slowly.  
  
A hand slowly merges out from underneath.........  
  
[The End]  
  
*************************************************************  
  
A/N: My first story completed! I would like to thank everyone for reading this, especially those who put in reviews even if it was only once. Don't cry, there will be a sequel and along with this chapter, a preview of the sequel "Deadly Alliance: The Outworld Sequel" should be out as well. Once again, thank you! Peace! 


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